


The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside

by TSarr



Series: The Red Moon Collection [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Gen, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 01:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 73,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4203159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TSarr/pseuds/TSarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A transport crew finds themselves entangled in a deadly machination the Terminus Systems that forces them to fight for both answers and their lives. This story contains a large cast of all original characters and takes place a few years before the events of Mass Effect. Hope you enjoy! T for violence and language. /Volume 1 of the Red Moon Collection\</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: While this story contains all original characters the universe is entirely the property of EA and Bioware.

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 1**

_**2166 – Earth** _

"Are you excited?"

The wind gusted softly through the green hills outlying Seattle. At the base of one of those hills William and Shansa lay motionless save for their slowly rising and falling chests. The grass beneath them had been recently cut and the smell wafted around them, a smell that Will breathed in deeply; he wasn't sure if he would smell anything like it for a long time. The sound of a transport shuttle engaging its thrusters and ascending into the overcast sky had made Shansa's question difficult to decipher. He glanced down his body toward the two remaining shuttles a few dozen meters away to be sure his reply would not drown out in a similar fashion. He was relieved, for numerous reasons, to see they were still being loaded by the dockworkers.

"I dunno if... _excited_  is the right word. Maybe anxious."

The redheaded girl laying at his side glanced to Will.

"Anxious?" The tone of her voice implied more of a desire for him to continue with his response rather than explain it.

"I don't know," Will began, "I just think fifteen is a weird age for moving halfway across the galaxy."

Shansa, now clearly intrigued, rolled onto her side, using her open palm as a support at the end of her arm to hold up her head. "Uh huh..."

"If I was a little kid I wouldn't have anything really holding me here. And if I was an adult I might feel like I've already seen everything there is for me to see." Will had resumed looking to the blanket of clouds above them.

As Will finished his thought two loud buzzers rang out, signaling everyone at the shuttlebay to clear the landing pad. A few seconds later the same roar of sublight thrusters filled their ears and the second shuttle began to ascend into the gloomy sky. Will watched as the blue light that blazed behind each engine slowly faded into the puffy, gray expanse.

"Well, I'm excited." Shansa rolled onto her back once again, her lips curling into a smile. "Have you seen the vids of the colony?"

He had. Arvuna was gorgeous, to be sure. However, Will knew that because the vast majority of the moon was oceanic, the significant landmass would most likely be reserved for urban development. The picturesque beaches and tropical paradise seen in the vids were far from what his and Shansa's families would see in their day-to-day lives. That being said, he had researched the colonial fishing communities that floated around miles from the islands that dotted the surface of Arvuna and was content. It would certainly be a change from the weather they experienced a few dozen miles south of Seattle.

"Yeah, I think we're gonna like it," Will admitted.

Shansa took a deep breath and sighed. "It's going to be nice having you there, too. I mean, having someone I know and everything."

Will knew what she meant. "Yeah, it's-"

"Shansa! William! You two had better get your rears in gear!"

Shansa's mother, Mrs. Fischer as Will knew her, stood twenty meters away with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Will had always found it amusing that the only feature of her Dominican mother that Shansa had inherited was her mouth, both in terms of the physical appearance and her tendency to let her opinions be heard whenever they manifested. Will and Shansa instinctively sat up, looking to the woman and waving obediently.

"Coming, mom!" Shansa shouted in response.

The two teenagers reluctantly pulled themselves to their feet. Will stretched as he found his balance and looked over to the remaining shuttle twenty or thirty meters before him. The last hefty containers were being hauled into the cargo compartments and a shorter, balding man in a blue uniform had appeared from a now opened hatch on the side of the vessel. A large cluster of people had lined up to talk to him. Will's father, Alec Hume, was one of them. Shansa and Will glanced to one another before slowly lumbering through the short-cut grass to their families.

"Come on, Shansa. Your father's already in the shuttle with your sister," Mrs. Fischer informed Shansa as they approached her. The woman glanced to Will and smiled. "Excited for the trip, William?"

Unlike Shansa, Will had been in space only a few times. The Fischers were civilian pilots by trade which gave Shansa the opprotunity to fly in the cozy cockpits of transport and shipping vessels on occasion. She had even left the Sol system once.

"Yes ma'am." Will had always been short-spoken around Mrs. Fischer. She was an intimidating woman.

"Good! I'm so glad you and your father decided to join us. Now, Shansa, we should get aboard." She nodded Shansa along before looking back to Will. "We'll see you in a minute!"

Will watched as his best friend and her mother climbed the three steps into the shuttle before turning to his father. Alec stood with his arms crossed as the short, balding man cycled through a document on his datapad. Will admired his father intensely. Alec had served as an Alliance marine during the First Contact War and had only retired a few years ago after Will's mother had died. He had worked here and there since but made sure not to uproot Will in search of more permanent work. After a good thirty seconds the man handed the tablet to Mr. Hume for his signature. Alec signed and nodded in thanks before turning to see his son standing a few meters away. Will and his father took a few steps toward one another as Alec spoke.

"This is it, buddy," his father said with a smile.

Will couldn't help but return his father's infectious smile. "I guess we're ready to go then?"

"Mhm." Alec nodded as he slung the small pack that he held in his hand over his shoulder. "Last chance to change your mind."

Will smirked a bit. "I thought you already signed the paperwork."

His father, still smiling, nodded to the hatch of the shuttle. "I'll take that as 'no further objections.'"

Will looked to the shuttle and slowly began moving toward the open hatch. As he neared the door he could see a few people seated inside, including the Fischer family on the far side of the interior. Will turned back to take a final look at the wooded hillside behind him, then pulled himself up into the shuttle, ducking to be sure he didn't bump his head. The shuttle was dimly lit in comparison to the light of the sun outside. As his eyes adjusted he caught sight of Shansa waving him over; she had saved him a seat by the window. Will quickly hurried across the cabin and dropped into the worn, artificial leather seat.

"I figured you'd want the window seat," Shansa stated.

Will smiled. "Thanks, Shan."

She was correct about him wanting the window seat. He didn't remember much of the last time he left the surface, but what he did remember was the view: the breathtaking vista of the curvature of Earth slowly shrinking away as the ship rocketed into the black abyss. Will pulled his thoughts back to the present and watched as his father passed the two teenagers and sat down a row behind them next to Shansa's parents. After three more people climbed into the shuttle the short, balding man climbed in as well and tapped a holographic panel next to the hatch, closing it. He tapped another button and leaned toward the panel.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please prepare yourselves for takeoff by securing your safety harnesses." The man sounded very monotone.

Will looked to Shansa. Out of nowhere he was hit with a wave of exhilaration that he had been subconsciously holding back. Maybe he just thought at fifteen it wasn't cool to be excited about going into space, but at this point he couldn't help it anymore. He was going into space! And not to the moon, or some orbital space station. He was going halfway across the galaxy to colonize a new world! His mind began to race and his lips curled into a broad smile. Would he see an alien? He would have to see a few, maybe even talk to one. He had only seen an alien once that wasn't on a vid. Some kind of official from the turian government that was touring Seattle and other human cities a few years after the war. But even then he was so far away he could barely see the turian. He might actually get to shake one's hand!

"You okay?" Shansa had perked a brow and was looking to Will in amusement.

"Uhh... yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about, you know..."

Shansa grinned. "I knew you were excited, too."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 2**

_**2177 – MSV Hyperion, Sahrabarik System, en route to Omega** _

"Holy shit! What the hell was that?"

William Hume braced himself on the bulkhead of the cockpit door as Shansa did her best to maintain a steady flightpath through the asteroid field that held Omega. For the past few hours the MSV Hyperion had been limping back toward the massive space station after a pirate attack had damaged one of their engines. So far, the small transport vessel had been holding together. After feeling the ship shake violently, Will was starting to think the ship's automatic damage report had been generous with its assessment. He watched as Shansa's hands danced across the control panels, simultaneously flying the ship and checking status reports on dozens of systems.

"Here we go." Shansa stated in her usual perky tone. "Fuel injector on one of the starboard sublight thrusters just ruptured. Luckily the fuel pump cut the supply automatically."

"Ah, fantastic. I was hoping we could limp a little slower."

Will's sarcasm fell on deaf ears as Shansa concentrated on flying. She swiped her hand across the holographic cockpit controls to lock in the thruster levels. The Hyperion slowly eased into a stable trajectory as she nodded to herself in approval.

"We're only a few minutes from Omega." Shansa bit her lower lip softly as she slowly teased the controls, maneuvering the crippled vessel out of a collision course with a rather large asteroid.

Will straightened up and glanced through the viewports. "You got things under control here?"

"You betcha," Shansa replied, still concentrating on her delicate maneuvering.

"Alright, good. I'm gonna go check on the cargo."

Will turned and ducked through the cockpit door and into the hallway. Despite the fact that the ship was maintaining a perfectly stable course he was worried he might lose his balance at any second. He took a step toward the wall on his right, just in case he needed to grab onto something. He glanced into the crew's quarters as he passed by the open door to see a few loose articles of clothing, electronics and containers scattered about on the floor. He made a mental note to pick them up after the ship had docked. As he reached the cargo bay door he tapped the control panel twice, unlocking and opening the door and allowing him to step into the relatively large room that served as the cargo hold. Two massive crates had been loaded for the delivery that they were forced to put on hold for the time being. Both sat in the middle of the room, fastened to the floor via strong magnetic locks. One of the containers was holding medical supplies and Will was fairly confident they could be dropped from orbit and be fine. The other container, however, was what he was concerned about. All he had been told when they had loaded the cargo was that it contained a relic and that the destination was a research facility. Given the paycheck promised for the delivery, Will was perfectly willing to not ask questions.

" _Hey, everything alright back there?"_ Will jumped slightly as Shansa's voice emitted from the ship's intercom.

He furrowed his brow slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

" _You've been back there for like ten minutes... I was just making sure nothing was damaged. We're approaching Omega, got us a dock."_

Will blinked a few times as he realized he was still staring at the cargo container and raised his hands to his eyes, rubbing them with his palms. Had he really just wasted ten minutes staring at that box? He grumbled and turned back to the door, stepping through and shutting it behind him. He walked back up to the cockpit, ducking as he reached the door and sliding into the copilot's seat. William looked through the viewport to see the space station Omega growing rapidly before them as the Hyperion closed the gap between itself and a repair dock. He glanced over to Shansa as she continued to adjust the flightpath before finally tapping a couple of commands into her console and locking in the trajectory. Will smiled as he watched her work; she was a natural pilot.

"Bringing us in," Shansa noted.

Will could feel the ship's thrusters cut off as Shansa switched from the primary drive systems to the tight maneuvering systems. Small thrusters on all sides of the ship began igniting for fractions of a second each as they maintained the course. The "dry dock" that Shansa had secured was fairly large and the Hyperion had no difficulty drifting through the massive doors. The forward thrusters ignited and brought the ship to a halt as Shansa slowly rotated the craft to align with the docking armatures.

" _MSV Hyperion, this is Omega Docking Control. Be advised: we are initiating docking sequence in fifteen seconds. Please disable all thrusters."_  William guessed the voice was turian.

"Affirmative, Docking Control. Cutting power now." Shansa slid her hands across the far right of the console.

Out of the sight from the cockpit, four massive arms were rising from the floor of the dock. The armatures adjusted themselves along the Hyperion, two on either side, and the massive circular locks were slowly pressed to the hull of the craft. After locking in place, the arms slowly descended back toward the floor of the docking bay, bringing the ship a few feet from the ground before stopping and locking into place. All the while the enormous docking bay doors had been slowly closing, finally locking shut as the Hyperion was secured. Will felt the Hyperion shift slightly as what he assumed was the station's artificial gravity engaged.

" _Standby while the atmosphere is vented in."_

Shansa light out a sigh and sat back from the control console. "Well that was exciting!"

Will gave her a sideways glance. "Yeah, wonderfully exciting. I liked the part where we almost got killed by pirates."

"I said exciting, not beneficial," Shansa quipped as she stood from her chair and stretched her arms above her head the best should could in the small cabin.

Will watched as the petite redhead rolled her neck slightly in an attempt work out all the knots. He looked back to the consoles in front of him and tapped a button, bringing him to the atmospheric readings to see that the docking bay had finished normalizing. As he closed the readings he caught movement from the corner of his eye. He peered out the viewport to see a turian marching toward the ship. Will pulled himself to his feet and nodded toward the door of the cockpit.

"Come on, looks like customs is coming to meet us." Will watched as Shansa smiled and ducked through the door, leaving him to follow.

* * *

" _Normalizing atmospheric pressures."_

Will leaned against the wall of the small decontamination chamber that separated Omega from the innards of the MSV Hyperion. He always enjoyed docking on Omega simply for the game of chance; it was always a gamble as to what one would see in the markets. He looked over to Shansa as she stood with her hands behind her back and eyes closed. Her head was raised toward the ceiling, most likely out of comfort. She had spent nearly four hours straight manually piloting the ship against failing systems.

" _Decontamination complete."_

Will stepped forward and pressed the large, green button on the control console next to the door. As the hatch slid apart he and Shansa were greeted by the turian Will had seen approaching the vessel. Will looked him over quickly, noting the light armor and SMG holstered at his side as he and Shansa dropped the two or three feet from the hatch to the floor of the docking bay. Will placed a hand on the area of his jacket that covered the holster of his M-6 Carnifex, just to reassure himself that he had the pistol on him.

"Welcome back to Omega. You are Captain William Hume, correct?" The turian spoke with little enthusiasm as he read through something on a his holopad.

"That's correct. Any documentation you need I can forward from the databank on board." Will moved his hand from the holster and crossed his arms.

"Well my records show that you haven't used one of our repair docks before so allow me to go through the basic information," the turian closed whatever he had been looking at on the holopad and turned his attention directly toward Will and Shansa. "We operate at a standard rate of 7,000 credits per galactic standard day which you will be expected to pay before departing. If you cannot make this payment I suggest your leave now or your ship and all contents therein will be impounded. We do not provide any repair services ourselves. If you require any assistance with repairs I suggest you look around in the market. And finally, I must remind you that this is not a cargo port and you will not be allowed to load or unload any cargo while docked. Any questions?"

Will gave as sincere a smile as he could muster and shook his head. "Nope."

"Very well, then. Good luck with your repairs."

As the turian turned to leave Shansa slid up next to Will. "So, what's the plan?"

Will let out a sigh as he raised his arm and opened up his omnitool. "Well, I've got the damage assessments saved. We should probably find a mechanic."

Will tapped a few buttons on his omnitool to bring up the search function.

"Looks like there are a few freelancers in the market nearby. Shall we?" Will closed his omnitool and glanced to Shansa.

"Lead the way, captain." Shansa grinned as Will rolled his eyes and started for the exit.

* * *

Despite numerous stops on Omega, both for business and pleasure, neither William nor Shansa had visited this particular market. The glow of dozens of holographic signs illuminated tightly packed rows of vendor stalls. Some signs danced and shifted in an attempt to catch the eye of the wandering consumer, while others simply shone persistently to advertise a name or product. While Will steadily led them toward the 800 block and the stall of a seemingly inexpensive mechanic, Shansa let her eyes wander through the sea of merchandise, purveyors and customers. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, but she did make note of anything interesting she might want. A pair of imitation-leather seat covers for the cockpit was currently at the top of her list.

Will glanced back to make sure he hadn't gotten too far away from Shansa. Seeing her a few meters back he came to stop, glanced to his omnitool and opened the map program leading him toward  _Eleena Ship Services_. If the directions were correct he was on the right row and only another minute or two of walking distance away. He killed the screen of his omnitool as Shansa caught up to him, stopping at his side.

"Should be right up here," Will informed her as he set off again.

Shansa walked along side him now. "I'm thinking about getting some new upholstery for the cockpit's chairs."

Will wasn't phased by the apparent non sequitur. Shansa often thought out loud. "Those seats are kinda falling apart, but how about we make sure we have enough saved up to  _fix_  the ship before we worry about interior decorating?"

"Hey, you're not the one who has to sit in those things for hours on end," Shansa retorted. "Those chairs are  _lumpy._ "

Will was scanning the stalls on either side of the street and not terribly worried about finishing this particular argument. He grinned as he caught sight of a small booth with a simple red sign reading "Eleena Ship Services."

"Hey, there it is." He glanced over to Shansa, nodding her to the stall.

The two humans moved through and around the half dozen market patrons between them and their destination. Will glanced around the small shop counter as they arrived, noting the minimal décor. He noticed a small amount of movement on the other side of the wide counter and cleared his throat.

"Uh, excuse me. I'm lookin' for a mechanic."

"Yeah, hold on a damn second," a voice responded from under the counter.

After a few seconds of waiting Will and Shansa were greeted by an asari as she rose from whatever work she had been fiddling with and crossed her arms. Will couldn't help but be taken aback. She was striking, as most asari were, with gorgeous soft purple skin and matching irises. Milky-white markings adorned her face both under her eyes and across her scalp. Each of her head-tendrils had two small streaks that ran from the base back toward the tip, one on either side of the center ridge. On both cheeks, just below either eye, were small, wing-shaped patterns roughly an inch in length. All this was set around a smaller nose, stern lips and a pair of intensely sharp eyes. Despite her innate beauty the asari wore a nondescript, black jumpsuit and stood in a very defensive and expectant stance.

"Can I help you?" The asari spoke in a orotund and confident tone.

Will glanced to Shansa quickly and with a smirk and slight squint gave her his 'let me handle this' look before turning back to the asari and spouting smooth. "Hey gorgeous, we're lookin' to have some repairs done. Is the mechanic in?"

"You're looking at her. What's the issue?" The asari remained still with her arms crossed.

"You're the mechanic?" Will didn't seem to notice the air of condescension in his words. Shansa and the asari did.

The asari narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, that's right. Is there a fuckin' problem with that?"

Will opened his mouth to respond. "Uhhh..."

"I usually give you humans a pass on this kinda crap because you're kinda new to the whole 'galactic society', but it's starting to get old. Not every asari dances on tables or has a Doctorate of Archeology from the fuckin' University of Serrice. My name is Eleena, and if you need me to fix your ship you'd better shape up before I add the cocksure jackass fee to your estimate."

"I.." Will's jaw hung as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"Hi!" Shansa smiled and held out her hand. "Shansa Fischer. We're  _really_  interested in your services, Eleena."

The asari smirked and reached forward, grabbing Shansa's hand and shaking tightly. "Glad to see one of you can interact like a sapient being. Got a damage assessment?"

"Sure do." Shansa replied as she nudged Will.

William blinked once and looked down to his side. "Right, right..."

He held up his omnitool and tapped a few buttons, bringing up the saved data. Eleena brought up her own omnitool, scanning Will's. She pulled her arm back as she finished copying the data and turned to the side, reading through the report.

Shansa leaned over to Will, whispering into his ear. "I like her."

Will tapped his omnitool off and whispered in return. "I'm not sure my new, verbally-ripped second asshole agrees."

"Guiana Class? Nice." Eleena commented as she browsed the damage assessment. "I haven't worked on a human ship this old in a few years but these sublight thrusters look like a newer pair."

"Yeah, she got a refitting done about six years ago. Brand new engines," Will informed.

"So I see. And they're wrecked. Did you fly this thing in here?"

"I sure did," Shansa replied proudly.

"Damn." The asari glanced up to Shansa. "Color me impressed."

Will leaned forward slightly having finished collecting himself. "That's why she takes the helm and I just call myself... captain."

"Uh huh." Eleena immediately turned her attention back to the data.

"Captain Hume, by the way. William Hume." Will extended a hand with a wink.

The asari closed up the damage report and glanced to Will, grabbing and firmly shaking his hand. "Unbelievably charmed, really." She released his hand, half rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms once again. "Well, if this report is accurate I should be able to handle it just fine."

"Great." Will tried his best not to sound defeated. "What kinda cost are we lookin' at?"

Eleena raised a hand to her lip, tapping it slowly. "Mmm, probably around 6,000, give or take. Unless you're providing parts."

The two humans glanced to one another and Eleena nodded. "I'll take that as a no. Where's this thing docked and when do you want me to start?"

"Docking Bay 45N. MSV Hyperion. And we're ready when you're ready," William said with a smile.

"Good. I'll follow you over in a few minutes. I've gotta make sure my supplier has the fuel regulators your thrusters need."

Will nodded. "I guess we'll meet ya there."

Shansa continued to grin as the two turned to leave. "She was fun! An asari mechanic's a nice change of pace from the turians and batarians we usually get."

"Yes, and unfortunately she seemed immune to my normally entrancing charm," Will noted while running his fingers through his hair sarcastically.

Shansa's grin turned to a smirk. "Is it not obvious why I like her?"

* * *

Will's hand slowly dragged across the bottom of the Hyperion's hull as he walked the length of the ship. He could only get this close without a suit once every few months, if not longer. His eyes wandered over the gray metal that was peppered with small scorch marks or dents that without the kinetic barriers would have torn the ship asunder. Due to the age of the ship there were hundreds of such marks. Despite the age and required upkeep Will appreciated a lot of things about the Hyperion. The Guiana Class was one of the last transports of its size built in bulk but not assembly line produced. It lacked much of the boring design features clearly implemented simply for efficiency's sake. He loathed the newer Kowloon and Athabasca Class transports that were basically rectangular warehouses with thrusters. The Hyperion, and all other Guiana transports, were produced during the first bubble of human expansion when shipwrights could still get away with putting a bit of elegance into their designs. The Guiana Class in particular had a shape almost like an angular teardrop, but instead of coming to a point in the aft, it split into two tails that housed the sublight thrusters. Designers had quickly learned that having half of each thruster only accessible from the outside of the ship was a terrible design choice for a transport that needed to be on the move as much as possible. Additionally, the slightly curved hull also led to small portions of space being unusable for cargo storage. And thus, the "box with thrusters" design was born.

Will turned as he heard the large airlock leading into the station slide open. Eleena soon appeared through the door pushing a floating dolly of what Will assumed were the supplies she had mentioned. She came to a halt a few feet from where Will stood at the bow and began looking over the ship with a small smile.

Will glanced up toward the ship as well. "Nice ship, eh?"

Eleena turned her attention to Will as he looked back to her. "Where's the one who isn't an ass?"

Will let out a sigh. "She's working in the cockpit, but look... I didn't mean to come across as disrespectful and I didn't mean to insinuate or assume anything about you. I  _was_  a jackass." Will straightened up and held out his right hand as his left hooked onto his belt. "I apologize."

Eleena looked the human up and down before reaching out and shaking his hand. "Accepted. But I still like your friend more."

"Well she's a lot nicer and better lookin' than me so I don't blame you," Will remarked with a grin as he held out his hand to invite Eleena toward the aft of the ship.

The asari chuckled lightly and nodded toward the ship as they began walking along the hull. "This thing doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. How long you been working with it?"

"Six years or so. I've been captain for the past three," Will gave a sideways glance to Eleena as she continued to gaze over every inch of the ship they passed.

"Hm. What kinda shipments you run? If you can answer."

"Anything, really. Right now we've got some medical supplies and some relic. We were just leaving for a research facility on Lorek when we got attacked," Will had subconsciously resumed his cool tone as he spoke.

"They take out your engineer?"

The two came to a stop at a small ladder that ran from the bottom to top of the hull. Will nodded Eleena along as she jumped up and began scaling the side of the ship quickly. He immediately followed and began climbing behind her.

"What do you mean?" Will raised his voice slightly as Eleena reached the top ahead of him.

"Well I assume your engineer is either dead or in a clinic if you need me here." The asari reached a hand out to Will as he neared the last rung of the ladder and helped pull him up to the top of the ship.

Will nodded in thanks as she helped him up. "We, uh, don't have an engineer. It's just me and Shansa."

Eleena was wiping some residue off of her jumpsuit as he responded, causing her to stop in place. "You operate this size of a ship with a crew of two? Neither of you can make repairs?"

"Well.. there used to be three of us. But that was before I was captain."

The asari blinked slightly in disbelief and turned toward the port side tail. "You two need a fuckin' engineer. You're lucky you even made it back to a port."

Will followed her toward the thruster and the massive scorch that marked where their attackers had crippled them. "I guess I'll start looking."

Eleena came to a stop at the base of the port side engine housing and knelt down. Despite the blackened armor plating around the hole, most of what was being protected in the thruster itself still looked relatively intact. The asari ship technician tapped on her omnitool and slowly scanned the area before her. The screen of her omnitool blinked as it processed the scan before bringing up a 2-D display of the engine schematics. Will watched in silence as she worked. He was impressed that an alien knew as much as she did about an older human vessel to identify that it had non-stock thrusters.

She tapped the omnitool off and stood back up, turning around to face Will. "It's actually not as bad as I was expecting. Shouldn't be more than a day or so."

"Just the words I wanted to hear," Will responded with a smile.

Eleena nodded. "Well, I guess I'll grab my gear." She walked passed Will and began to climb back down the ladder as she called up. "By the way, I'll knock off the jackass fee this time."

Will let a cocky smile spread onto his lips as Eleena descended out of earshot. "I knew she'd come around."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 3**

**_MSV Hyperion, Omega_  
**

"Hey, Will, wake up."

Will let out a disapproving grumble as he stirred from his nap in the cockpit. He blinked and brought his vision back into focus to see Shansa leaning over him with a thermos of what will assumed was her coffee. She drank way too much of the stuff. Realizing he had slumped down quite a bit, Will pulled himself to a proper sitting position and yawned.

"I had a real nice nap going there you know."

Shansa took a sip of her coffee and shrugged. "Mechanic said she needed to ask you some questions about the engines whenever you have a second."

"Uggh. 'Whenever I have a second?' You couldn't have just let me sleep until she  _urgently_  needed me and then woken me up?" Will rubbed his temple slightly. It had been a long day.

"Na, I like making you suffer once in a while." Shansa plopped into the helmsman's seat and took another sip with a grin. "You think she's doing a good job?"

Will turned his seat slightly to face her's and shrugged. "How would I know? I'm not a mechanic. Unlike every other mechanic we hire she hasn't told us we need to replace the wall paneling or cup holders for the low, low price of 100,000 credits so she's earned a gold star in my book."

"And I guess we'll find out how her skills hold up when we boot those thrusters up."

"Precisely. She also thinks we need a full-time engineer." Will turned his gaze to Shansa.

"Haven't I been saying that for like a year now?" The redhead gave Will a look slight of irritation and 'I told you so'.

"Yeah, yeah. I should probably put up an ad on the extranet."

"Have you thought about asking Eleena?" Shansa watched Will closely over the lid of her thermos, waiting for him to respond before she would take her next drink.

"Not really... I mean, I'm sure she makes way more here doing freelance repairs than we could pay her." Will shrugged slightly. He liked the idea, but he was trying to stay realistic.

"I don't know about that. You saw how defensive she was when we first met... I bet a lot of the passing business doesn't take her seriously. On top of that she looks pretty young. You know... for an asari." Shansa downed a rather large gulp.

Will pondered her words for a moment before shaking his head. "Wait, how in the hell can you tell she looks young?

"It's a girl thing. I can tell."

"Well, you might be right. Her stall didn't seem to be booming with business... but I'll worry about that later." Will groaned dramatically as he pulled himself to his feet and rolled his head back and forth. "I should go find out what she needs."

Shansa nodded and stood up as well. "And I need to get out of this damn cockpit for a few minutes."

Will turned to duck through the doorway and into the hall with Shansa just behind him. He turned to the left just before the end of the hall and the door to the cargo compartment to face the disembarkation chamber. He tapped the door panel and opened the hatch while skipping the decontamination sequence; they were already in an enclosed area with a clean ship. He stepped out of the outer hatch with Shansa right behind him and began his way toward the aft. Shansa remained by the bow and leaned against the hull, continuing to sip her coffee. As Will reached the ladder, this time on the port side of the ship, he leaped up a few rungs and quickly climbed his way to the top. Eleena was busy at work on one of the engines as he knelt down slightly beside and behind her.

"So, you needed me?" Will looked over the engine and was impressed to see it looked nearly like new.

The asari glanced to him briefly and then back to her work. "Yeah, I need to know if the fuel-lines were modified at all when these new thrusters were put in."

"I believe it's the original fuel system... why? Something important?" Will looked over to the asari.

"Eh, it's not anything  _major._ I can adjust the fuel governor here and I wanted to know what level of fuel output the system was working at by default. If I adjust it here I can make sure the fuel flow stays at a safe level purely via mechanics. The ship's VI should handle it automatically, but if you're ever without the VI you'll have to watch the fuel intake on these thrusters  _very_  carefully." Eleena glanced over to Will, waiting for him to respond.

"Yeah, go ahead and set the governor."

"You got it," Eleena acknowledged while leaning forward and twisting a rather large nob.

"I've got to admit... I'm impressed. You know your way around an outdated, human brick of a ship."

The asari finished tuning the nob to just the right rotation and sat back, looking over to Will. "Well thanks. I guess. Hey, mind if I ask you a question?"

Will shrugged. "Shoot."

"How's business treat you? I mean... do you run a two-person crew out of cost necessity or...?" Eleena leaned back over the engine, setting the new compartmental armor piece across the hole and locking it into place.

"Business is actually pretty good. It's just the two of us because we've never seen the need for anyone else. We make some of the best delivery times out there because of these thrusters... as I'm sure you're aware they're pretty big for this small of a ship." Will glanced to Eleena curiously.

The asari had just finished locking the panel in place as she turned back to Will. "Oh. Well... good. Just curious."

Will narrowed his eyes slightly before shrugging and speaking up once again. "So... you mentioned that we should probably look for a full time engineer. You... wouldn't be interested in something like that, would you?"

Eleena paused briefly before turning to begin tossing her tools into her satchel. "I- I'm not sure. Is that an offer?"

"Well you seem to know what you're doing. And I'm sure you're doing well for yourself here on Omega, but sure, let's call it an offer."

"I'm making it by just fine," Eleena quickly noted. "But... I do I kind of miss working with a crew. It's been three or four years now since I worked my last crew job. For all the vices this station has to offer it can get boring as shit real fast."

Before Will could press the issue further a sound caught his ear. A deep, unfamiliar voice droned from the bow of the ship. Will looked across the hangar to see the door was unlocked before glancing to Eleena, who clearly had heard the voice as well and was concentrating on listening. He caught her attention and motioned for her to follow him as he crouched and began slowly moving across the hull of the ship toward the bow. Eleena reached into the satchel and pulled from it an M-9 Tempest before setting the bag aside. She slid the weapon into the holster at her side and turned to follow closely behind him. As they grew closer Will could hear Shansa's voice responding to the deeper male voice sporadically.

"Look, we don't have any cargo. We're just stopped here for some repairs." Shansa was clearly lying and stalling.

"I find that hard to believe," the voice responded.

As Will and Eleena reached the bow of the ship they peered over the side to see a pair of armed batarians standing in front of Shansa. Will and Eleena immediately leaned back out of sight and he reached for his holster, drawing his Carnifex. The human glanced to the asari who narrowed her eyes slowly and ignited one of her fists into a small ball of biotic energy. Will nodded in acknowledgment and looked back over the edge.

"Enough. Open the cargo bay," one of the batarians commanded.

Shansa crossed her arms indignantly. "No."

The batarian chuckled slightly and grabbed his pistol, whipping it up and pointing it to her chest. "Open the fuckin' door in three seconds or you're dead."

Will glanced to Eleena, then nodded toward the batarian closer to her. She nodded and took a quiet but deep breath.

"One."

Will raised his pistol and took aim as Eleena shut her eyes and began to concentrate.

"Two."

Will held is breath to steady his shot.

"Thr-"

"Alright alright! I'll open it!" Shansa shouted in an attempt to alert Will to the guests.

"Good," the batarian commented smugly as he lowered his weapon.

"Now, Eleena!"

Shansa ducked as soon as she heard Will's voice. He fired two shots into the far batarian's head and neck, killing him instantly as Eleena unleashed a biotic throw on the leader and sent him flying a few meters back. The asari drew her SMG while the batarian flew through the air and unleashed a small hail of bullets into him. The batarian smashed into the ground bleeding and limp. Shansa watched with one eye open and her teeth clenched as the two batarians were dispatched with ruthless efficiency.

"Took you long enough!" Shansa stood up and looked to the top of the ship as Will and Eleena holstered their weapons.

"Hey." Will gave a slight shrug. "We were busy."

He glanced over to Eleena as they turned and hurried toward the ladder. "Nice work. I wasn't expecting much."

The asari gave him a smirk as she spun and dropped onto the ladder. "Please. If you live on Omega you've gotta be prepared to crack a thug's skull once in a while."

Will followed Eleena down the ladder and toward the front of the ship where Shansa was already looking over the body of one of the batarians. Will gave the body a quick glance and frowned. No gang markings or symbols of any kind. The armor he wore was a decent set, and it looked as though both he and his partner had been stupid or cocky enough to show up to a shakedown without their shield generators active. He looked to the other body to see that Eleena had already passed by the two humans to investigate it.

"You okay, Shan?" Will knelt down next to his friend and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah... yeah I'm okay." She seemed a little shaken, but a little pirate or gang violence wasn't rare in their line of business.

"What did they want?" Will was worried that he already knew the answer.

"They said... they knew what we were carrying and they were here to take it," Shansa stood up from the body and stepped back.

Will stood as well. "Well. That's not good."

"Hey. I found something," Eleena called from a few meters away.

Will and Shansa hurried to the asari as she knelt beside the body and browsed through a personal datapad.

"Take a look. Last message was sent about an hour ago." Eleena held the datapad out as she continued to look over the batarian.

Will took hold of the tablet and tapped the "Recent Messages – Sent" button on the top of the screen. The most recent message loaded onto the screen and, as Eleena had said, was time stamped for just over an hour ago.

_To: Narek_

_With a little "persuasion" we gained access to the docking logs on Omega's dry dock level and it seems a Guiana Class ship arrived around twenty hours ago. It's the only ship class with a matching silhouette on the station and there's no way it could have made it out of the system with the damage we did to those sublight thrusters. They're undergoing repairs in docking bay 45N as we speak. Nalon and I will be able to handle things just fine so be ready to extract us with the package within the next day._

_-Jall_

Will glanced to Shansa as she read over his shoulder. By her expression he could tell she was as unsettled as he was.

Eleena let out a sigh and stood up. "Nothing else worth while on this guy." She looked down to the humans as they read the message. "So... you two must be moving something interesting."

Will cleared his throat and stood, turning off the datapad. "You'd think so. Like I told you yesterday, it's just a container of med supplies and some old relic."

"That's it? Bandages and rocks?" Eleena crossed her arms, unconvinced.

"Yep. The scientists who hired us even paid extra to be sure we wouldn't take on any more cargo until this delivery was done."

"Will... I think we should just dump this thing and get out of here." Shansa was more visibly upset than before. "These guys were probably going to kill me after I opened up the ship. Those pirates that attacked us were after  _us_ specifically. I don't want any part of whatever dirty business deal you've gotten us into."

"We're  _not_  abandoning this delivery, Shan." Will gave Eleena a quick glance. To his chagrin she was listening curiously. "You know damn well that we need this... especially with the cost of these repairs."

Eleena scoffed. "I love a nice payday as much as the next girl, but they can't be paying you that much-"

"Five hundred thousand credits. Paid in full at the sight of delivery." Will turned his attention back to Eleena.

The asari blinked. "I... fuck. Okay. He's right. That is definitely worth it."

"Shansa, I understand where you're coming from, but think about this. If we dump this thing they're not just going to just let us go. We know someone is after this thing and I'm willing to bet they don't want any loose ends."

Shansa shut her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "And then what? How do we deal with them after that?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know. We sell the ship or something. Maybe go to the authorities and tell them we've got dangerous pirates in tow for them to blow out of the sky. But until we get paid I'm not risking anyone else finding out about this delivery."

"What about..." Shansa drifted off and directed her gaze to Eleena.

Will turned to the asari. "Eleena, how much longer do you think it will take for you finish our repairs?"

The asari, still with her arms crossed, shifted her eyes to the side. "They're done, really. I just need to set the governor for the starboard thruster."

Will took a step toward her and cautiously brought a hand to her shoulder. "Thank you. And... please don't tell anyone about this. I can give you a bonus or something just for your trouble..."

The asari eyed Will's hand before shrugging it off. "That won't be necessary."

He furrowed his brow slightly. "What? Why?"

"Because if your offer still stands..." Eleena took a deep breath. "I accept."

"My offer?"

"You did ask me if I would be interested in joining your crew, didn't you?" The asari narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Oh! Of course! I... didn't think you were even considering it." Will gave a sideways glance to Shansa who was now smiling slightly at the prospect of their new shipmate.

"Like I said... staying in one place gets boring. I miss being on a ship. And it looks like you two take on some exciting jobs so I think for a nominal twenty five percent per delivery-"

"Woah, come on," Will quickly interrupted. "Eighteen, tops. With upkeep Shansa and I barely take home twenty-five each. And we'll have to cut that down to afford a third crew member."

"Fine, fine, eighteen," Eleena consented with a smirk.

Will grinned and held out a hand which the asari gladly took and shook once. "Welcome aboard, Eleena."

"Pleasure's all mine. I should probably go get some things from my apartment before we leave, though." Eleena looked toward the door leading back into the station.

"Do it. I'll take care of the refueling while you're gone. Shansa, we should get into the cockpit and get the preliminary diagnostics running."

"Already on it," Shansa said with a nod as she bounded toward the airlock of the ship.

"I'll set that governor as soon as I get back," Eleena informed Will. "And what exactly is your plan for these two?"

Will looked at the two dead batarians. "I'll figure something out."

* * *

"And that is one fully functional Guiana Class light transport," Eleena called from the starboard thruster tail.

Will and Shansa stood at the base of the ladder as the asari appeared by the edge with her supply satchel slung over her shoulder. She quickly descended to the floor of the hangar and turned to Will with a nod.

"So do I have to start calling you Captain now?" The asari raised a brow and cocked her hips to the side.

"I think the more important question is if  _I_  have to start calling you Captain," Shansa added with a grin.

"I guess if you  _want_ to. Will is fine with me, though." He had never had anyone other than Shansa under his 'command'. He was trying not to come across as inexperienced.

"Casual. I like it. Been on a few boats where the CO didn't give a fuck and it worked out fine. As long as everyone respects each other. Of course once you start getting twenty or thirty on board, then you actually have to sort out the chain of command." Eleena looked to either human with a small smile.

"Right, well, I'd love to give you a nice welcoming party, but I'd really like to get this cargo out of our hair...," he glanced to Eleena, "and head tentacles. How 'bout we get going?"

"I've already notified docking control that we're ready to leave," Shansa informed Will as the trio began walking toward the boarding door. "All they need is the final confirmation and they'll open the hangar doors."

"Great." Will reached up the couple of feet to the outboard door controls.

"Hey, can one of you two give me a hand with this thing?" Eleena nodded down to the footlocker she had brought from her apartment that was sitting a few meters from the hatch.

Will and Eleena got other either side of the footlocker and hoisted it up to chest level, walking it over to the now open hatch on the side of the Hyperion. Shansa, who had already jumped up into the ship, knelt down and guided the luggage into the decontamination chamber with her. Will and Eleena nodded in thanks before pulling themselves up as well. Shansa waited until they were inside before tapping a few buttons on the inner door panel and initializing the decontamination sequence. Will glanced to his two shipmates in silence. A new member of the crew was a enormous change for him and Shansa. He hadn't been this excited in a long time. A soft sound pinged around them as the interior door unlocked and parted. Shansa quickly hurried into the hall and toward the cockpit as Will and Eleena picked up the footlocker and walked into the ship after her.

"Mind if we just drop this by the crew's quarters for now? I'll give you the tour after we've made our FTL jump." Will motion toward the door to the quarters with his eyes.

"Yeah, sure," Eleena followed him to the door and set the footlocker down with him.

Will wasted no time turning back toward the cockpit with Eleena in tow. She ducked into the cockpit behind Will as he slid into the copilot's seat and put a hand on the two seat-backs, leaning forward slightly with her head lowered to avoid hitting the low ceiling. Will took a deep breath and glanced to Shansa with a nod.

Shansa smiled and tapped a button on one of the holopanels to her left. "Omega Docking Control, this is MSV Hyperion. We are ready for departure."

After a few seconds a voice crackled through in response.  _"Affirmative. Standby for release."_

Will leaned forward to get a clear view of the corner of the hangar as the artificial gravity deactivated. Tied to a hook on the wall were their assailants from earlier in the day, gently floating a few inches from the floor. He looked down to his omnitool and tapped send on a prepared message. Will figured that the message, along with the attached security cam footage, detailing the attack would be more than enough evidence for the Omega "security" to call it an open and shut case. Below them the armatures holding the Hyperion in place all released their hold in sync and lowered back into the floor of the hangar. He glanced to the atmospheric readings to see that the air was rapidly venting.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Shansa reached to the thruster controls and with the tap of her finger started the engines.

The ship jumped forward slightly as the thrusters ignited, giving the ship a tiny push. Shansa quickly activated the maneuvering thrusters and turned the ship around to face the now opening bay doors. Will watched as she checked all the primary systems with impressive speed. As she finished Shansa looked to Will and Eleena with a smile.

"Ready to see if Eleena knew what she was doing?" She turned back to the now fully open hangar doors with a grin.

"Pretty sure the fact that I'm standing here in the damn ship shows that I'm confident in my work," Eleena remarked as she looked through the forward facing viewport.

"I think she was kidding," Will responded with a smirk.

With that Shansa brought the thrusters out of idle and accelerated out of the dry dock and into the "lanes" of travel that surrounded and went through Omega. She mapped a course to take them outside of the station's traffic and into the asteroid field, pushing the engines into gear. The smile on her face grew as she adjusted to flying with the newly repaired and tuned up thrusters. Shansa reached for the FTL controls and with a few swipes of her fingers began charging the drive.

"Flies a dream, El!" Shansa glanced back to Eleena with a beaming smile.

"El?" The asari perked a brow.

"Damn it, I'm sorry." Shansa spun back to her flying. "I just thought it would be a cute nickname because, you know, friends give each other nicknames and stuff... oh god I just assumed we were friends. I'm so sorry. I haven't had a real friend in so long I don't even remember how to do it-"

Will turned to Eleena as Shansa continued. "Sorry."

"Eh, it's fine." Eleena leaned toward Shansa. "Hey, Shansa, you can stop having a neurotic episode. El is fine."

"-and I..." Shansa paused. "Oh, okay!"

The asari looked over to Will. "So how did you two get away from the attack by those mercenaries? Looks like they took out your thrusters pretty quick."

"Actually, that would be Shansa's heroic tale." Will looked to Shansa as she reddened slightly.

"Eh heh... it wasn't really that big of a deal," Shansa began. "We had just finished refueling and were moving to a safe jump distance for the flight to the Fathar System when they ambushed us. They only got one salvo on us but it took out the port thruster. Luckily, because we were about to jump, the FTL drive was active. I threw in some quick coordinates to take us near Omega and punched it."

"It's a good thing that fuel line didn't rupture until we were long out of FTL. And like ten or fifteen minutes from Omega," Will added.

"Well, nice job. I'm glad my new helmsman knows what she's doing."

Shansa's face reddened slightly more at the compliment from Eleena. "Looks like the FTL drive is charged and we should be at a safe distance for the jump. Will, can you give me a flight path to the Fathar System?"

Will leaned forward and began working at the navigation panel. "Got it. Coordinates and vector locked in."

Shansa made a few more checks on the engines. "Here we go!"

In an instant the Hyperion was accelerated past the speed of light and on towards Lorek. Shansa set the thrusters to automatically increase acceleration and locked in all the settings on he auto pilot. She spun her chair to face Eleena and Will with a smile.

"Should be just a few hours," Shansa noted as she stood from her chair.

Will stood with her and the trio exited the cramped cockpit for the hallway. "So, Eleena, you want that tour now?"

"Sure." The asari shook her head in amusement. "You know this might be the first time I've joined a crew without ever seeing the inside of the ship."

"Well I'll be the first to admit that it's nothing to write home about..." Will paused for a moment. "But that doesn't stop it from being one."

* * *

Commander Narek marched down a dimly lit hall with determination in his eyes. The batarian stopped at a security door and tapped in a long passcode before placing his palm on a scanner for identification. The panel pinged in affirmation and a green light appeared on the bulkhead above the door as it slid apart to reveal a small and sparse office. At the center of the room another batarian sat at a long desk that nearly spanned the length of the room. He was operating holographic monitors spread across the left side of the desk and only shifted his eyes to identify his guest. As Narek entered he bowed his head and stood at attention. The batarian behind the desk minimized his work on the screens and turned to the commander.

"Sir, I've got a report from members of the strike team."

"At ease, commander," the batarian behind the desk ordered. "What's the situation?"

Narek relaxed, his arms folding behind his back. "Captain Jall and his lieutenant are dead. Omega's security has already deemed them the aggressors in the incident and have closed the case."

"And the package?"

Narek cleared his throat. "Gone, sir. The vessel made repairs on Omega and left shortly after Jall confronted them."

The batarian seated behind the desk remained silent for a few moments. "I see. Take care of this, Narek. I'm trusting you."

Narek bowed his head once more. "Yes sir. My ship is being prepped to leave as we speak."

"Good. May the pillars carry your burden."

"And may they give us vision to see this journey through."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 4**

_**MSV Hyperion, Omega Nebula, en route to Lorek** _

" _Will, we're approaching the Fathar System."_

Will looked down to his omnitool and opened his mic to respond to Shansa.

"I'll be down in a second."

Will was lounging on the couch in what he and Shansa referred to as "the loft"; the small room was only accessible by a ladder in the bunk room and had been used by their old captain as his quarters. After they had taken over, Shansa and Will decided that it wouldn't be fair for either of them to have it all to themselves and declared it the spot either of them could go if they needed time alone. After the action they had seen earlier and the big change of a new crew member Will had desperately needed some. Will pulled himself up, leaning forward just slightly due to the low ceiling, and crossed the room to the hatch leading down to the bunk room. He hauled open the door and slid down the ladder gracefully before sauntering through the door and into the hall. The cockpit door was open and Shansa had already begun preparing to bring the ship out of FTL. Eleena sat in the seat beside her, browsing through the data feed on a screen dedicated to mechanical readings.

"I see you've made yourself at home," Will commented to the asari as he ducked into the cockpit and leaned against the helmsman's seat.

Eleena nodded. "Figured I would get myself used to the software on this end." She glanced up from her work and smirked. "Why, you want your seat back?"

Shansa grinned, her eyes and hands still focused on flying. "It's been a while since Will's had anyone in his seat. He's probably just nervous."

Eleena's tried her best to stifle a snicker. "Oh! I had no idea... we could go a little slower if you want. Maybe I could just sit on the arm rest for a little while and _then_  ease my way-"

"Ooookay, then. Captain is calling for silence on the bridge. Are we in the system yet, Shansa?" Will shook his head slowly.

Shansa bit her lip to hold back a cackle and nodded. "Yep. Bringing us out of FTL in ten seconds."

The trio stayed silent as ten seconds later the ship rapidly decelerated out of FTL. Eleena nodded in satisfaction at the engine readings and glanced to Shansa.

"Thrusters are performing perfectly," the asari noted with a bit of satisfaction in her voice.

"Mm-hm.. and we should be in Lorek's orbit in about ten minutes," Shansa informed them as she locked in a flightpath.

Will took a step back. "Given the current series of events surrounding this delivery I'm not entirely convinced that we're not walking into another ambush. I think I'm going to go dust off the old M-15. Maybe strap on my combat armor." He turned and ducked through the door before glancing back. "You know, just in case."

Eleena quickly stood from her seat and followed Will into the hall. "Good idea. I'll grab my set out of my footlocker."

"You guys aren't exactly making me feel comfortable about this!" Shansa called back to them.

"Sorry, can't hear you," Will responded as he walked into the bunk room.

Will turned to a large locker on the wall with a smile. He hadn't broken out his armor in a few months. Eleena walked to her footlocker in the corner of the room and knelt down beside it as Will opened the locker. He looked over his shoulder to the asari as she unlocked her trunk and began pulling out numerous sections of armor.

"So, you settling in okay?" Will looked back to the locker and began removing his own set.

Eleena continued with her task without looking up. "You mean in the four hours I've been on the ship?"

Will smirked as he attempted to buff out a small smudge on his chest piece with his cuff. "Alright, fair enough, dumb question. How about this then: do you like the ship so far?"

As Eleena pulled out her left bracer, and final piece of armor, she shut her footlocker and shrugged. "Sure. It's not the biggest ship I've served on. Hell, it might be the smallest.  _Definitely_  not the prettiest. It's got some character though."

"I've heard that one before. I think 'character' is the nice way of calling something a dated piece of junk."

Eleena snorted as she turned around and began unzipping her jumpsuit. "If I thought this thing was a piece of shit I would've said so. I just think it's crazy that the first generation of human FTL capable ships is still perfectly flyable."

Upon hearing a zipper Will peeked toward the asari. He turned back to his armor in disappointment after seeing her shorts and tank top underneath the jumpsuit. "Well sure, it sounds crazy for you. Your people have been in space for what, three thousand years?"

"Eh, close enough."

Having removed her jumpsuit and placed it on top of her footlocker, Eleena began methodically strapping on her armor, starting with her boots and moving up. Will removed his jacket and boots before proceeding to do the same.

"So was that just a guess? Or do you actually know about asari history?" Eleena glanced to Will as she questioned him, working on her leg plates.

Will laughed lightly and shook his head as he stepped into his own leggings. "No, that wasn't a guess. I'm pretty well read on galactic history. Learned a bit in school as a kid. Plus there's a lot of boring hours on a cargo ship, as I'm sure you're aware."

"Huh." The asari smiled as she locked on her chest piece. "You learned about asari history when you were younger?"

"Well it was just the basic stuff, really. It was pretty hard not to learn about it for a while." Will focused briefly while centering his chest piece before continuing. "You've gotta keep in mind that I was born before we even made first contact. My father even fought in the War. After we were brought into the galactic community there was a non-stop flood of information for years! The history of the Council, the asari, turians, salarians, krogan, the Rachni War and the Krogan Rebellions. And that was just the stuff we got in the welcome pamphlet."

Eleena chuckled softly as she finished suiting up by sliding on her gloves. "Damn... talking to a human really fucks with your perception of time. How old are ya, Will?"

Will pulled on his gloves and pulled up his armor diagnostic program on his omnitool, beginning the scan. "Me? Twenty-six. Why?"

The asari shook her head and turned around to look for her satchel. "Like I said... perspective." She pulled her SMG from the bag and slid it into a holster at her side. "I'm two hundred and fifty-two in a month."

"That's pretty young for an asari, isn't it?" Will reached for his assault rifle and began inspecting it thoroughly.

Eleena stretched a bit as she reacquainted herself with the armor before crossing the room and coming to a stop next to Will, watching as he looked over the rifle.

"I guess you could say that. I've been a ship tech for almost two hundred years though." She eyed the gun closely. "You know how to use that? I've seen a lot of people on a lot of different cargo haulers who think they know how to use a gun that size. But what happens when the pirates show up? Eleena has to toss a shockwave to lock them up while Mr. Never-Fired-His-Rifle figures out how to turn the safety off."

Will gave her a sideways glance as he finished up and slid the rifle onto his back. "My father taught me plenty about self defense. And I've fired this thing at more than a handful of pirates and mercs. I'll be fine."

" _We're entering atmosphere over Lorek,"_  Shansa suddenly interrupted over the comm.

Will nodded toward the door as he quickly made his way into the hall and to the cockpit with Eleena close behind. Will ducked into the cockpit and leaned against the back of Shansa's seat with Eleena doing the same to the empty co-pilot's chair. Shansa glanced back to the two armored figures, Eleena in black and Will in a dark, blood red, and raised her brows.

"Wow, you guys look kinda intimidating."

"That's the idea," Will stated flatly while fiddling with the helmet he held at his side. "That and not die."

As the ship descended toward the planet the vast expanse of the surface of Lorek grew in the forward viewports. The surface, at least in the area they were near, consisted mainly of a gray dirt and rocks with a metallic sheen spotted with various degrees of low vegetation. On the horizon a massive storm sprawled out for miles in all directions.

"Are we headed into that?" Will asked as he eyed the storm cautiously.

Shansa nodded once. "Yep. Travel advisory says this is a near-perpetual storm."

"Fantastic. It's like being back in the Pacific North-West all over again," Will lamented as the Hyperion barreled downward into the clouds.

Shansa chuckled softly as Eleena glanced to the two humans with a cocked brow.

Will grinned back to her and shrugged dismissively. "Earth joke. You had to be there."

"I haven't gotten any response from the facility, by the way." Shansa reached over to the communications console and attempted to establish the connection again. "Must be interference from the storm."

The storm caused the Hyperion to shutter and shake violently as it forced its way through the cloud cover and into a sheet of rainfall. Shansa forced the descent further until the ship finally burst from the clouds and into the dark sky between them and the surface of the planet. Rain and lightning filled the air around them as Shansa leveled out the altitude and continued on toward their destination.

"You fly much in atmosphere?" Eleena was looking between the viewports and a vid feed from the bottom of the hull as she spoke.

Shansa, clearly focused on flying, nodded once in response. "Pretty regularly. Anytime we have to deliver cargo to the surface. We're about a minute out, by the way."

Will glanced to the navigation console. The waypoint for the research facility was closing in and the storm was growing worse. He raised his helmet and locked it into place before tapping Eleena on the shoulder and motioning for her to do the same. As she donned her helmet Will accessed his omnitool and activated his outbound comms.

"Alright. Let's get to the airlock." Will turned and ducked through the door and hurried down the hall.

Eleena followed close behind him as he came to the airlock and opened the first hatch. Will reached down to his omnitool and with a few taps activated his shield generator. Eleena did the same as the two stepped into the decontamination chamber.

" _I'm bringing us down to the landing pad,"_  Shansa reported over the ship-wide comm.  _"Doesn't look like there's anyone to greet us."_

"No comms. No one on the platform. I don't like this," Eleena stated bluntly.

Will opened his comm with Shansa. "Keep the engines running. Just in case."

" _Gotcha. Get ready to touch down."_

Will activated the decontamination sequence and looked to the engineer. "Keep your hand near your gun."

Eleena nodded in affirmation. Suddenly the ship gave a massive shake as the landing gears impacted with the surface of Lorek; Will and Eleena braced themselves on the walls as the ship regained stability. Will straightened himself and took a deep breath as the light on the outbound door illuminated green. He took a step forward and tapped the panel, opening the door. As soon as the airlock slid apart Will and Eleena were met with a wall of nearly horizontal rainfall and intense gusts of wind. Will glanced back over his shoulder and waved Eleena forward as he stepped from the ship onto the rocky hillside that the research lab appeared to be built into.

As Eleena stepped out Will reached back and closed the airlock. The thick metal landing pad was a dull shade of gray barely different from the hillside it was perched upon. The facility had to be small; the Hyperion was relatively small for a freighter yet barely fit on the platform. Will did his best to scan the surrounding area, but given the intensity of the storm he could barely see ten meters in any direction. He quickly gave up as he realized the nearest entrance to he facility was the large, double-wide door a few meters before him. He hurried to what looked like the security panel next to the door with Eleena in tow and let out a sigh of relief as the awning that stuck a few feet out over the door provided a slight respite from the pounding downpour.

"Looks unlocked," Eleena commented, her voice completely level and clear through the helmet headset.

Will tapped the holoscreen and stepped back as the "lock" on the door slowly cycled and opened to a room of darkness. Will turned on his omnitool's flashlight and illuminated the room to see it was only as wide as the door and about twice as long. On the left hand side a long slab of glass gave vision into a room of monitors that was most likely a security and processing room. Will took a hesitant step into the facility as Eleena activated her own flashlight and began scanning the room herself.

"I'm starting to think no one's home," Will muttered as they stepped further into the room.

"Starting to?" Eleena narrowed her eyes as she looked over the walls meticulously.

At the opposite end of the room a door identical to the open one behind them sat closed with four glowing green lights at the center. The security panel at the left of the door also shone a soft green light to indicate it was unlocked. Will reached to his back to retrieve his rifle as he approached the glowing green button. Eleena drew her SMG and held it at the ready as Will tapped the button and the door slid apart.

"Oh Goddess," Eleena gasped.

The long hall on the other side of the door was littered with a half dozen bodies. Will jerked his rifle up to the ready and quickly scanned the length of the hall. It was a few dozen meters long with three or four doors on either side at various intervals. Most of the bodies, however, were within a few feet of the door. At a glance Will saw a few humans, asari and a salarian. A human and asari both wore what appeared to be security uniforms while the others were dressed in simple lab fatigues. Seeing that there was no immediate threat Will dropped his rifle and knelt down to the closest body. Eleena stepped up beside him, still holding her weapon up.

"Anything?" The asari glanced down to the human body as Will looked it over.

"No ID. Looks like it was stripped," Will replied. "These wounds look fresh. They've only been dead a day or so."

Will felt his adrenaline spike and his heart begin to race. His eyes jumped to the other bodies: all fresh wounds. He stood and took another slow look around the hall. It was unnervingly empty save for the dead researchers. He took a step back and raised his comm to the ship.

"Shansa... we're getting out of here."

" _What's going on? Are you guys okay?"_

Will turned off his comm and grabbed Eleena by the shoulder as he turned and hurried back through the inner security door. The asari did not hesitate to follow, their pace increasing as they ran back into the pouring rain and across the platform to the side of the Hyperion. Will opened the airlock door and jumped in with Eleena at his side. He stared to the wide door a few meters away and down the long, dark hall before closing the airlock. He opened his comm again.

"Shansa, we're on board. Get us into orbit."

Will's breathing was heavy and labored as he pulled his helmet off and pressed the button to start the decontamination sequence. He didn't notice how wide his eyes had grown as he stared at the door in a state of semi-panic. The ship suddenly lurched upward and forward, causing him to lose his balance and stumble into Eleena who was pulling her own helmet off.

"Fuck! Watch it!" Eleena caught him, briefly, before pushing him back in the direction he had fallen from.

He quickly regained his balance as he turned to face her. "I- I'm sorry." He blinked and shook his head as he realized he had lost his composure. "Damn it, I don't know what came over me."

Eleena gave him a curious look accented with a hint of irritation as she slid her SMG back into its holster. "Whatever. Don't worry about."

As the decontamination completed and the inner door slid apart Will quickly ran to the cockpit and leaned in. Shansa glanced back over her shoulder as she piloted the ship up out of the storm.

"What the hell happened?" Will couldn't figured out if Shansa's tone was worried or angry.

"Let me get out of this armor. Then we've gotta have a talk."

* * *

"They're  _all_  dead?" Shansa covered her mouth as it gaped slightly in shock.

"Unless there are survivors who really enjoy the sight of their dead colleagues laying in the doorway, yes, they're all dead." Will stared at the ground as he replayed the scenario over and over again in his head.

Shansa and Eleena sat at the dining table in the crew's quarters as Will paced slowly back and forth across from them. Shansa's eyes were held open wide as she shook her head slowly. Eleena stared blankly to the door, deep in thought. After a minute of silence Will stopped and turned to the door.

"I'm opening that box," Will stated as he started for the door.

Eleena and Shansa snapped from their thoughts and glanced to one another before jumping to their feet and following him through the door and down the hall to the cargo bay.

"Will, I don't think that's such a good idea," Shansa pleaded as they entered the cargo bay and approached the box containing the artifact.

"Someone murdered those people for whatever is inside this thing," Will stated as he circled around the container. "If they come for me then I'm not gonna die without knowing what it was they're after."

Eleena stood at the doorway, leaning on the bulkhead in silence. Will looked to her in hopes of gaining support, only to be given narrow-eyed stare in return as the asari watched curiously to see what he would do. Will stopped circling the box at the side with the small holographic panel and tapped in the command to open the container. A soft ping chimed from the crate as it unlocked and Will immediately pulled the lid to the side. Shansa and Eleena both attempted to peer into the box from their respective positions as Will gazed down at what could only be described as a black, reflective sphere about a foot in diameter. A gentle, nearly inaudible hum began to ring out as Will gazed directly at the object.

"Will? What is it?" Shansa took a cautious step toward him and the box.

Will broke his gaze from the sphere and shook his head, looking back at his crewmates. "How the hell would I know. It looks like I would expect an "artifact" to look."

Eleena rolled her eyes and walked to the container, peering inside and shaking her head. "It's just a ball. Is it dangerous?"

"You mean to touch?" Will looked back down into the box. "Let's find out."

Before Shansa could grab Will's arm to stop him he had leaned forward and placed his hand on the top of the black orb. Eleena and Shansa's eyes darted between Will and the sphere for a few seconds until it became apparent that nothing was happening.

"Huh." Will leaned closer, squinting as he looked over the surface of the orb. "I think there's writing on it."

Will slid his other hand around the sphere and pulled it out with little effort. He was taken aback by the low weight of the orb as he held it in his hands and rotated it to look along the surface. Shansa and Eleena had stepped to either side of him and began scanning the surface as well. Shansa raised her hand and touched her finger to a line of the tiny inscriptions that ran along the sphere.

"Either of you recognize the language?" Will's fingers slowly moved and rotated the orb as the trio examined the writing.

"Nope..." Shansa seemed almost mesmerized.

"Nothing I can read," Eleena replied.

Will lowered the orb, gazing at it for another moment before dropping it back into the padded interior of the container. "I wish I knew what this thing said."

Eleena's eyes shifted from the orb to Will's. "I might know someone who can tell us."

Will raised a brow expectantly. "Go on."

"A quarian. I did some contract work for him about two years ago."

"And how's he gonna help us?" Shansa inquired.

Eleena crossed her arms. "He's a xenolinguist. That's all I really know about him. That's all he'd tell me."

Will leaned down and slowly closed the lid of the crate. "And where might we find this quarian?"

"When I worked for him it was on a space station orbiting..." The asari averted her gaze slightly as she thought. "Olokun. It's a gas giant in the Osun System. Might as well start looking there."

Shansa bit her lip for a moment. "That's a good day and a half of flying."

"Then we'd better get going," Will stated as he locked the cargo.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 5**

_**MSV Hyperion, en route to Osun System** _

Eleena pursed her lips as her eyes darted across the stream of data pouring from her omnitool's screen. The Hyperion had made its relay jump over six hours ago and she had been checking the eezo core readings every fifteen minutes since. The small core room was located in the back of the ship via a hatch at the far end of the cargo bay. The cramped work space would take some getting used to, and the layout out of the engineering compartment made little sense to her. On either side of the small room that stored the core was a cramped hall that led to a compartment directly under the respective side's thruster. Eleena had attempted to reverse engineer the reasoning behind not just making the engineering room one large entity before remembering the ship's relative age and chalking it up to a beginner's mistake. The asari stood by the window looking into the core's housing as Shansa took a step into the room and leaned back against the nearest wall. Eleena glanced to her briefly and then back again to her omnitool.

"Hey! Whatcha working on?" Shansa asked as she peered at Eleena's omnitool with curiosity.

"Just getting some levels. I want to have a baseline for the readings on this eezo core. I like to know the ship I'm working on." Eleena nodded at the final line of her data and tapped off her omnitool.

"Are they... good readings?"

"They're not bad. Obviously this design isn't as efficient as it could be, but considering it was one of the first iterations you humans came up with it's forgivable." Eleena looked up to the human.

Shansa smiled proudly. "Yeah, she's a good ship."

"To tell you truth, I've always been impressed with human ship design. You've only had the tech for a few decades but your fleet is as good as almost any in the galaxy. You know, except for the damn turians," Eleena smirked.

"Have you served on any turian ships?" Shansa still smiled broadly as she talked.

"Oh yeah. Last one before this was turian. If you've worked on a few dozen ships like I have you're  _gonna_  work a few turian makes." Eleena nodded to the door. "Mind if I get something to drink?"

The human nodded. "Sure, after you!"

Eleena turned to the holopanel that gave her access to the core's systems and with a few taps from her fingers put the monitor into standby before turning to duck through the hatch and into the cargo bay. Shansa followed behind her, walking at her side as they made their way to the opposite end of the room and the hatch leading into the forward hall.

"I'm kinda curious... how did you two get your hands on a decent ship like this?" Eleena gave Shansa a small sideways glace as they walked.

"Oh... well... we both served on her for a few years with our old captain. Captain Nieto. He taught us pretty much everything we know about running the ship." Shansa walked through the door and into the hall with Eleena a step behind her.

"And what happened to him?"

Shansa stepped into the crew's quarters and took a seat at the small dining table as Eleena crossed to the set of cabinets and began searching for a glass.

"He gave us the ship after-" She paused and pointed to the cabinet at the far right. "Glasses are in there. He gave us the ship when he passed away."

Eleena looked to where Shansa pointed and produced a glass from the small door. She turned to the water disposal and filled up a good three quarters of her cup before turning to Shansa and finding a seat at he table with her.

"Did he go naturally?" Eleena raised a brow slightly as she took a long gulp of water.

Shansa looked down and shook her head. "No."

"Mm. Sorry. Was he a good guy?"

Shansa looked back up to the asari and nodded regretfully.

"Fuck that. Sucks, I know. Seen my share of good people get killed. Usually for no good reason, too." Eleena downed another sip of water. "Anyway. How long have you and Will been working together?"

The human perked up slightly at the change of subject. "Years. We worked together on the colony for a long time before we started on the Hyperion."

"Ahh, so you two are colonists? That takes some guts. Leaving your home so early in your race's expansion." Eleena downed the last sip of water and set the glass on the table before her. "You guys together?"

Shansa tilted her head inquisitively. "Huh?"

Eleena sighed. "You know.  _Together?_ "

The human blinked and shook her head. "No... Uggh. No! Will's like my brother. We've known each other since we were little kids!"

"Alright, alright. I was just asking," Eleena held back her smirk.

Shansa sat up and nodded toward the asari with a grin. "What about you? Got a little something back on Omega?"

"Meh, no. I was kinda with someone a few years ago but it ended badly. Kinda put that stuff on hold for a while." Eleena sat back and crossed her arms.

"I see. By the way, thanks for not kicking us out of your stall back on Omega after Will acted like a pig," Shansa rolled her eyes slightly.

Eleena snorted slightly and looked down. "Whatever. I've had more disgusting propositions at my shop. Plus, he's young. So am I. I understand why he or anyone else our age wants to bed everything that moves."

"But you don't?" Shansa asked curiously.

"Like I said, I'm just taking a break from that kinda stuff," Eleena responded with a shrug.

"You guys talking about me behind my back?" Will inquired as he poked his head into the room from the hall.

Shansa glanced over her shoulder. "I thought you were asleep."

Will stepped into the crew's quarters and walked to the kitchenette, searching for something quick to eat. "Well I was. For about eight hours. Then I woke up."

Shansa sighed. "Eight hours already? I was enjoying the quiet."

Eleena grinned and watched in silence.

"I aim to displease. And now you should probably get some sleep. I can set us on course to Olokun after we hit the relay," Will responded as he pulled a nutrient bar from a box and began nibbling.

Shansa pulled herself to her feet. "Alright, fine."

Eleena stood as well. "I should probably get some sleep too... I'm pretty fuckin' exhausted."

"Probably a good idea," Will commented through chews. "It's my turn for the quiet anyway."

* * *

Will sat in silence in the co-pilot's seat, staring out into the inky blackness of space as the Hyperion traveled toward the gas giant Olokun. The stars that dotted the dark expanse rippled slightly from the distortion of FTL travel, giving the view an almost dreamlike quality. According to the nav panel they were rapidly approaching their destination. Then would come the fun part of scanning for the space station. He finally pulled his eyes from the viewport and turned himself to the multipurpose panel in front of him. Displayed on it was most of the available standard information about the planet and its atmosphere; most of the data was irrelevant given the fact they were looking for an orbital station. To his left Shansa sat prepping the long range scanners while Eleena finished her work in the engineering compartment.

"We getting close?" Will asked as he glanced to Shansa.

"Just a few minutes. Taking us out of FTL now," Shansa replied as she looked back. "You think this guy will help us?"

Will looked back to the viewport and sighed. "I hope so. And that's assuming we even find him here. At the very least we might find something to tell us where he is."

Shansa made a few last entries on her panel. "Alright. Scanner is online. Here's hoping this planet doesn't have a lot of electromagnetic interference."

Will leaned over to the comm panel and activated the ship-wide intercom. "Eleena, how's everything look back there?"

" _Damn near perfect. I'm heading up to the cockpit now."_

Will flipped off the comms and looked out the viewport as what had only been a small dot minutes before was now a rapidly growing planet. The enormous, orange gas giant was encircled in a set of rings that Will was sure would make finding the space station that much harder. Eleena stepped into the cockpit and put her hands on the seat backs, leaning forward to look out the viewport as well.

"That's definitely the right planet," she noted.

Will glanced over his shoulder. "I was under the impression that you were already sure this was the right one."

The asari shrugged. "I was  _pretty_  sure."

"I've got a few pings on the scanner!" Shansa's lips curled into an excited smile. "Looks like four stations in orbit. These two big ones are probably helium-3 mining platforms..."

"Do you have any silhouettes?" Eleena shifted to Shansa's side of the cockpit.

"Yeah..." Shansa made a few quick adjustments on her screen and brought up the images of the two smaller stations.

Eleena narrowed her eyes and looked over the two fuzzy silhouettes for a moment. "It's the one on the left."

"You sure?" Will asked sarcastically.

Eleena gave him a sideways glance. "I'm  _pretty_  sure."

"Okay then... I'm setting a course. Will, can you send the station a hail?" Shansa brought the ship into a long, arcing turn as she spoke.

Will reached to the comm panel, punched in the relative direction of the station and sent out a wide-range hailing signal. The crew sat in silence for over a minute as the Hyperion traveled toward the station without a response. Over the horizon of the planet the shape of an orbiting station began to grow. Will tapped the comm panel again, sending out another hail as the ship closed rapidly on their target. He looked back out the viewport and sighed.

"Hey! We got something," Eleena pointed to a green light on the comm panel that had appeared while Will had averted his attention.

He opened the comm channel that was on standby. "Hello, this is Captain William Hume of the MSV Hyperion. Do you copy?"

After a brief pause an accented male voice replied.  _"Halt your approach. Why are you here and what do you want?_

Shansa decelerated the ship to a corresponding orbit with the station. They were close enough to see that the station was relatively small and most likely unarmed.

"We're looking for a xenolinguist. Heard there might be one here."

The channel stayed open as the person aboard the station hesitated.  _"I... might be able to help you. How many of you are there?"_

Will gave an exasperated look back to Eleena who merely shrugged. "Umm, just three of us. We're a shipping crew. I've got an artifact of some kind here with a language none of us can recognize. We were hoping you might be able to tell us something about it."

" _Hmm."_  There was no hesitation this time.  _"Fine. Dock your ship. I will meet you at the airlock. Bring this artifact with you."_

The comm channel closed before Will could respond. "I guess we're goin' in. Shansa?"

"Which side should I dock on?" Shansa was already approaching the station.

Will glanced through the viewport to see that there was a docking armature on either side. "I don't care. Just pick one."

As the Hyperion slowly glided into position the docking bridge extended toward the starboard side of the ship. Shansa looked to her main screen and brought up a real-time display of the ship and the station's armature as they closed in on one another. She made a few minute adjustments before they made contact and locked into place. Will stood and maneuvered around Eleena as he made his way into the hall. The asari turned and followed him into the cargo bay as he knelt beside the artifact's container and opened the lid. He reached in and pulled the dark orb out, bringing with it the constant low hum. He stood and looked to Eleena.

"This guy seems a little... unfriendly." He held the orb under his arm as he began walking back to the airlock.

"I worked a contract job for him. Didn't talk much. I figured he was just quiet," Eleena responded as they reached the decontamination chamber.

Shansa had put the ship's systems into standby and was standing in the airlock. "This is pretty exciting, huh?"

Will stepped in and began the decontamination sequence. "Sure. Exciting."

As the outer door opened they were greeted with a short hall leading to another airlock door. Eleena tapped the panel to open the door, revealing another decontamination chamber. The three gave each other hesitant looks before stepping in. The door closed behind them as a mist much thicker than that in the Hyperion's chamber filled the air around them. Will let out a few uncontrollable coughs as the inner door pinged and slid apart. From the thick mist all that Will could see as the door opened were two bobbing lights and a figure standing in the doorway. He stepped forward to see that the figure was a quarian, seemingly male, holding a pistol up to the trio.

"Woah!" Will coughed again and stepped back, holding up his free hand. "Hey, we're unarmed!"

As the mist settled Shansa and Eleena, having seen the quarian as well, raised their hands. The quarian held his gun perfectly straight at Will as he looked over all three of them carefully. To his left a yellow drone hovered idly, as did the orange one to his right. Without saying a word the quarian lowered his weapon as though no altercation had occurred and stepped back.

"I live in the gateway to the Terminus Systems. I cannot afford the luxury of trusting strangers," he stated, the light on his helmet glowing softly as he spoke.

Will lowered his hand and nodded. "I don't blame you. No harm, no foul."

The quarian motioned to the large room behind him. "Come in."

The quarian turned and walked into what looked like a re-purposed research lab with Will, Shansa and Eleena entering behind him, the yellow and orange drones still watching them closely. They had entered what Will assumed was the center chamber of the station. Four large work stations sat in the center of the room, all with electronics scattered across them. The walls and counters that lined them were no different; electronics, large and small, were everywhere. Across the room was a hatch identical to the one they had entered from with the words "Starboard Airlock" written across the top. At what would be the "bow" end of the station was a massive collection of monitors, all currently on standby. To the "stern" was a single hatch with the words "Living Quarters" above it.

The quarian had stopped at one of the work benches and cleared a space. Will set the orb gently onto the bench as Shansa and Eleena came up beside him, the quarian standing safely on the opposite side. He stood under a bright light that illuminated his entire suit for the first time. Like most people, Will had not seen a large number of quarians, much less spoken to them. The quarian before him wore a suit like any other; a unique melding of rubber lining and tubing, form fitting cloth, and metal to hold it together. The fabric was a deep blue covered in a series of overlapping, silver-lined octagons. Through the mask Will could see the slight outline of his eyes as they blinked.

"Sorry for the mess," the quarian stated. "I don't get many visitors."

He brought up his omnitool, which was an unusually red tone in color, and dismissed his two drones. As he looked back up he extended his gloved hand toward Will. "My name is Tul'Sorrin. William Hume, was it?"

Will reached forward and gave him a firm handshake. "That's right." He motioned to his left and right. "This is my crew."

Tul looked to Shansa as she extended a hand. "Shansa! Pleased to meet you."

The quarian nodded. "Indeed." He looked to the asari and held his hand out.

"Eleena," the asari stated as she gave him a quick shake.

"I know you," Tul stated. "You worked for me on this station."

"Uh, yeah. I did," Eleena admitted. "You remember that?"

The quarian looked down to the orb. "Like I said, I don't get many visitors. And I remember them well because of this. I find it more odd that  _you_ remember me."

Eleena cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "Well you're the only quarian xenolinguist who has hired me."

Will watched as Tul placed his hand on the surface of the orb and slowly rotated it. "So, this is our ball."

"So I see. Where did you find it?" Tul lifted the artifact and leaned in close to the surface, examining the writing.

"Well...  _we_  didn't find it anywhere. We were hired to transport it to a research facility. And everyone there is dead."

"Well, I'm glad your first course of action was to involve an innocent third party," Tul stated dryly before turning his attention back to the artifact. "Hmm... soft humming, could it be a tra-"

Will sighed. "Fine. Hand it over and we'll leave."

Tul shook his head and set the orb down. "No. You are already here. I might as well tell you what I know." He paused for a moment. "Also, you are lucky that xenolinguistics is my hobby and not my trade."

"So what does it say?" Shansa asked eagerly.

Tul'Sorrin looked to the crew. "If I could read the prothean language I would be able to tell you. I would also be a very, very wealthy man."

Eleena stepped forward and leaned onto the table between them. "Are you telling us this thing is prothean?"

"Yes. And very old, at that. Most prothean artifacts are completely devoid of any written language. It is only the most ancient archeological finds that contain any writing." Tul crossed his arms as he stared at the orb in contemplation.

"That doesn't make any sense... why did the protheans _stop_  using language?" Will raised a brow, unconvinced.

"I did not say that they stopped using language. I said they stopped using  _written_  language," Tul replied. "And this... this is a very, very valuable piece because of it."

Shansa shook her head. "If it's so valuable then why did they hire a small-time, independent transport to move it?"

The quarian placed his hand on the artifact and began rotating it once more. "I do not know. My best guess would be that they figured your ship would not attract the attention that a heavily guarded convoy would."

"Yeah, well, they still found us," Will stated.

Tul let out a sigh and looked up to his guests. "I'm sorry. There's nothing else I can help you with. And as I'm sure you're aware, harboring prothean artifacts is a crime. I would suggest you turn it in. Or sell it on the black market, depending on how daring you are."

" _Attention. Unauthorized vessel has docked."_

"What!" Tul'Sorrin spun to see the starboard airlock had begun blinking. "VI, why was not informed of an approaching ship!"

The crew looked to one another and Will immediately pulled his Carnifex from its holster. Shansa gave him a look of disbelief for bringing the weapon while claiming to be disarmed. He ignored it and nodded to the artifact and then to Shansa.

"Grab this thing!" Will shouted as he reached over the table and tugged on Tul's arm. "Get over here!"

The quarian darted around the table with the crew and drew his pistol. He glanced to Will's. "Unarmed, huh?"

Will raised his weapon to the now opening airlock. "Sorry 'bout that."

Shansa grabbed the orb and held it at her waist, just bellow the edge of the workbench and out of sight. Across the room a thick white mist spilled from the parting doors as a group of figures stepped from the decontamination chamber into the room. There were five of them, all batarians, with two on either side of what appeared to be their leader. The four underlings held rifles up and at the ready as the batarian in the middle looked around the chamber before letting his eyes fall onto the four people standing in the center.

"You have something I need," the batarian stated bluntly. "And you should know that if I must hurt you to find it, I will."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 6**

_**Olokun-2, in orbit above gas giant Olokun, Osun System** _

Adrenaline coursed through Will's veins as he stared at the squad of armed batarians at the other side of the small space station. The leader of the group stood with his arms folded behind his back in a strangely diplomatic fashion. Will noticed he had two thick, black lines encircling his neck that he assumed were tattoos. He wanted to look down and make sure the artifact was out of sight, but realized that was not worth the risk. Behind and beside him Shansa, Eleena and Tul'Sorrin stood eying the guests cautiously. Will cleared his throat and took a small step forward.

"Mind if I ask what you're looking for?" He inquired casually.

The leader of the batarians smirked. "Ah, so you're going to act cooperatively this time? Even though it was their own fault, I didn't appreciate what you did to my men on Omega." He raised his chin slightly. "I'm looking for an artifact and I know you were in contact with it recently."

Out of the corner of his eye Will could see Tul's arm below the edge of the workbench furiously tapping away at his omnitool. He didn't really buy into praying, but at that moment he prayed that the quarian had something planned.

Will nodded his head in consideration. "I see. And might I ask who you are?"

"Fair enough. My name is Narek," the batarian replied cordially.

"Narek, if I may be so bold to ask, what exactly is stopping us from reporting your... unusually intense interest with illegal prothean tech to the Citadel authorities?" Will had put a hand to his lip thoughtfully. Shansa rolled her eyes.

The batarian chuckled. "Well, two things I suppose. The first being that we've already sent several anonymous tips to the Citadel informing them of your prothean artifact smuggling operation. I wouldn't try to take your ship anywhere near Council space anytime soon. And the second... well we could just shoot you if you tried."

Will noticed Tul's hand had stopped working and was resting on a softly pulsing green button. "Well, you make a compelling argument. But I question whether or not you'd actually be willing to hurt us, as you claim."

Narek narrowed his eyes. "Do you? Then how about I kill your quarian friend and we see how strong my will is."

As Narek reached down to the holster that held his pistol Tul tapped his omnitool and shouted. "Down!"

Will spun and grabbed Eleena and Shansa, yanking them to the floor as Tul dropped with them. Before they had hit the ground the sound of machinery could be heard at the other side of the table, quickly to be drowned out by the deafening roar of flamethrowers. Will turned his head to look over his shoulder as a plume of fire erupted over them from the side of the station their unwanted visitors had been standing. Screams from the victims of Tul's handiwork filled the room as the fire continued for nearly ten seconds. As quickly as it had appeared the heat from the fire died and Will spun up and readied his pistol, aiming it over the workbench and toward the door.

"Fuck!" Eleena shouted from the ground as she shook her head.

Will agreed with her, though for different reasons. The side of the chamber where the batarians had been standing was scorched black. He glanced up to see two small turrets ascend back into small compartments in the ceiling. He looked back down to the charred bodies of two batarians laying before the sealed airlock door.

"Three of them got away! They're getting back onto their ship!" Will turned and ran to their own airlock and rushed to open the door. "We have to go  _now!_ "

Eleena, Shansa and Tul jumped to their feet and rushed into the airlock, Shansa still holding the orb tightly in her arms. Will jumped in and closed the door behind them as the thick mist began to fill the room.

"Tul'Sorrin!" He looked to the quarian to see that he was already at the control panel.

"On it!" Within a few seconds he had overridden the external hatch and the group ran for the Hyperion's outer door.

Will frantically opened the door and began doing the same to the control panel of his own ship. He glanced to his side to be sure the group was on board before forcing the outer door shut. Almost immediately the inner airlock slid apart before the decontamination sequence could even begin.

"Take this!" Shansa shouted to Tul as she shoved the artifact into his arms and bolted through the door toward the cockpit.

Will followed Shansa into the cockpit as she jumped into her seat. He looked out the viewport to starboard to see the batarian ship already pulling away from the space station. Shansa's hands darted to what seemed to like every button on her flight control panel as she prepped the Hyperion to move.

"Eleena!" Shansa shouted to the asari that stood just outside the cockpit. "The FTL drive's emergency charge inhibitors are on!"

Eleena had already turned and begun sprinting down the hall toward the cargo bay a she shouted back in response. "Got it!"

Will looked back out the viewport. The batarian ship had blasted away from the station and was beginning a tight turn. It was coming back to line up a shot.

"Shansa..." Will muttered as he watched the ship complete its turn.

"The station's docking locks are still enabled!" Shansa turned back to Tul as he stood in the doorway holding the artifact.

"Damn it!" The quarian leaned forward and dumped the orb into Will's lap as he pulled up his omnitool. "There! We're free!"

Before Shansa could ignite the thrusters a flash of light from the batarian ship's main cannon illuminated the cockpit. None of them even had time to look before the shot impacted Tul's station, sending debris flying into the side of the Hyperion. Loud thumps rang out as chunks of the station hit and were deflected by the ship's hull armor. The batarian ship took evasive maneuvers and flew past them at close range. Shansa regained her composure quickly and the Hyperion jumped forward as the thrusters burst into full drive.

"FTL drive is charging at emergency capacity," Shansa noted as she entered a state of concentration. "Good job, Eleena..."

The Hyperion banked into a sharp turn as Shansa angled the ship way from Olokun, her hand resting on the command to enter FTL. He finger shook nervously as seconds passed that felt like minutes. All three watched the green indicator for the FTL charge as it filled to a sustainable level.

"Jumping!" Shansa pressed the button firmly.

In a fraction of a second the ship had entered FTL and was soaring toward nowhere in particular. Will let out an enormous sigh and glanced out through the cockpit door to see Tul'Sorrin leaning against the wall, frozen. Eleena jogged through the cargo bay door and up to the cockpit. After seeing the ship had jumped she backed away from the door and took a deep breath, leaning against the wall much like Tul. Shansa locked the Hyperion into a course and sat back from her console, staring out the viewport blankly.

Will pulled himself to his feet with the artifact tucked under his arm and gave Shansa a pat on the shoulder. "Good work."

As he made his way down the hall to the cargo bay he could hear the others forming up behind him. Will leaned down as he reached the orb's crate and quickly locked it inside. He turned around to see Shansa, Eleena and Tul all standing and looking to him expectantly.

"So..." Will couldn't think of much else to say.

"We have to get rid of this thing," Shansa started. "The Citadel or Alliance-"

"-will arrest us," Eleena interrupted. "You heard what that batarian said."

"He could have been bluffing!" Shansa growled.

Will shook his head. "I'm not gonna take that chance. Eleena's right."

Shansa sighed in exhasperation. "Then we dump it!"

"What good will that do? I doubt they'll stop chasing us because we threw their precious ball out the airlock," Will crossed his arms.

Eleena narrowed her eyes and raised a finger. "Wait a second. How did they find us in the first place? We were barely docked a few minutes before they showed up."

Tul'Sorrin cleared his throat slightly. "Tracking device, most likely..."

The others glanced to the quarian in slight surprise, almost as though they had forgotten he was there.

Will nodded to Tul and turned back to the cargo containers."He's right... there's no way they could have found us so quick unless they had something on board. Oh goddamn it..."

"What?" Shansa stepped up beside him.

He nodded to the crate marked "First Aid" with a suspicious eye. "We picked this thing up a few hours after we loaded the artifact."

Will leaned down and opened the container. The lid parted to reveal a collection of boxes labeled as various medical products. He pushed them apart and reached down before pulling out a large, blinking, rectangular device. He tossed it onto the floor and stood up.

"Well, that looks like our tracking device," he said with a sigh.

"Hold on a second... did you say that box was a  _separate_  job from the artifact?" Eleena was clearly angry.

"Some... batarains... contacted us about an urgent delivery to Lorek with good pay before we even left the starport with the other package. We were headed there anyway," Will stated defensively as he turned to the asari.

Eleena crossed her arms. "Didn't you say the scientists that hired you to move the artifact paid extra so you wouldn't take on any other cargo?"

Will shrugged. "Well, yeah, but... it's not like they were gonna find out."

Eleena groaned in frustration and shook her head. "You're an idiot."

" _I'm_  an idiot? Why would  _they_  jump through so many hoops instead of just stealing the artifact before we left orbit?

"They watched you pick up the artifact then planted a tracker so they could steal it and kill you when you were far enough away from any possible help," Tul'Sorrin answered. "No one would know when or where it was taken, where it was going, who took it. Seems... rather obvious to me."

"Alright! Fine! I'm an idiot. We'll jettison this tracker when we exit FTL and get the hell out of this system," Will raised his hand and rubbed his temples in frustration.

"And then what?" Shansa spoke softly.

Will closed his eyes and shook his head. "We'll head to Omega. Get some supplies." He looked to Tul and lowered his gaze. "Tul'Sorrin, I'm... really sorry we got you caught up in this."

The quarian let out a small grunt. "Thanks, but sorry won't change what happened. My home is nothing but burning debris" He shook his head and looked to the floor. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to let strangers with an 'artifact' onto my station."

"Is there anything we can do?" Shansa stepped toward Tul with an apologetic smile. "You can stay on the ship as long as you'd like. Right Will?"

Will nodded in agreement. "If it'll help then by all means. It's the least we could do. I wouldn't want to stay in one place with these guys still out there."

"I'll think about it, but I agree with the Omega idea, for now. I doubt you have any dextro foodstuffs laying around and I'd rather not starve to death," he commented flatly.

Will leaned down and picked up the tracking device. "Shansa, take us out of FTL and I'll toss this thing out the airlock. Then set a course for Omega."

Shansa nodded and hurried off to the cockpit as Will looked down to the two cargo containers. He felt like an imbecile. The timing of the two deliveries and their convenience was so obviously suspicious in hindsight. Will turned and headed to the airlock, leaving Eleena and Tul standing in the cargo bay. He opened the hatch and tossed the device in before closing and locking the decontamination chamber. As he stared at the control panel waiting for Shansa's signal he began running through their options and hoped that one would stand out as the least terrible.

* * *

Whenever the Hyperion was underway one could always expect the engineering compartment to be abuzz with the sound of machinery. The steady hum from the FTL drive peppered with the hiss of various gases traveling through the dozens of pipes rounding it was strangely comforting to Will. He sat in the corner of the chamber by the doorway that lead to the starboard thruster housing, staring idly through the window into the drive core. White and blue light filled the room from the small viewports as the drive worked to keep them at FTL capability. They had dumped the tracking beacon hours ago and were preparing to make their relay jump back to the Omega Nebula. This had offered him some much needed time to think.

"Sorry. Didn't realize you were in here."

Will blinked as he came out of his trance-like stare and looked to the door to see Eleena tapping away at her omnitool. She glanced over to him once again, waiting for a response as she stepped into the room and up to the core control panel.

"Needed a place to think. Shansa already called the loft for a while," Will stated regrettably.

"Well don't let me stop you," Eleena stated with a sideways glance. "Just making sure the core is running smoothly after that emergency charge."

"Hey good work, by the way. Didn't even have to give you instructions," Will quipped with an air of sarcasm.

Eleena smirked. "Believe it or not I was familiarizing myself with the ship for a reason."

The asari closed out the panel and her omnitool after finishing her checkup. She did not leave, to Will's surprise, but rather leaned back against the wall by the door and looked down to him.

He glanced up and managed a sincere smile. "Regretting your choice to come with us yet?"

Eleena shook her head. "Na. It'll take more than a couple crazy batarians to turn down a job that pays eighteen percent flat per job."

Will let out a small laugh. "Glad you're with us for the right reasons."

"By the way... I'd like to apologize," Eleena averted her eyes slightly. "I called you an idiot earlier and it was out of line. I would have done the same thing in your shoes."

"Well I  _was_  an idiot. Sounds to me like you're admitting to being on my level," Will grinned.

Eleena snorted and rolled her eyes. A silence fell between the two as Will's eyes drifted back down to the floor, his mind once again getting caught up in the events of the past few days. Eleena watched him curiously for a few moments.

"So what are we gonna do about this?" Eleena's voice lacked its usual boldness as she asked.

Will shook his head lightly. "I don't know yet."

" _Hitting the relay in ten seconds,"_  Shansa's voice announced over the ship-wide comm.

After a few seconds the thrusters and eezo core could be heard making adjustments as the Hyperion entered the relay's FTL 'corridor.' Will looked down to a blinking on his wristband that indicated a new message on his omnitool. He reached over and activated the screen to see it was from Shansa, sent only a few seconds prior.

_I'll be in the loft if you need me._

He closed the message and deactivated his omnitool as Eleena stood up straight from the wall and stretched her arms. Will pulled himself to his feet with a small groan.

"I should probably check up on Tul'Sorrin... make sure he's holding up okay." Will felt excruciatingly guilty still over getting the quarian involved in their problems.

"Alright. I'll stay here. Try to get in some of that thinking time you were talking about."

Will nodded to the asari with a smile and made his way through the hatch and into the hangar bay. He glanced at the artifact container briefly as he passed it before continuing onward into the forward hall. He could see from the hall that the cockpit was empty and glanced into the common area. Tul was sitting at the dining table working at a datapad. Will stepped in and walked over the table, sitting down in silence. The quarian continued his work without a glance.

Will drummed his finger slowly on the table between them before speaking. "So... you doin' okay?"

Tul pressed a few more keys on the screen of his tablet before glancing up. "I'm fine. Been better. Been worse."

"Your home and everything in it just got annihilated and you've been worse?"

The quarian switched off his datapad and turned his full attention to the human. "Yes."

Will shook his head slightly in disbelief. "Well, Tul'Sorrin, I was a little confused at how relatively calm you were about all of this. Now I guess I know why."

"The ship I was raised on in the flotilla had a very interesting philosophy: being of an exiled and homeless race was as bad as it could get, don't let anything else bring you lower," Tul'Sorrin looked straight to Will as he spoke.

"Exiled and homeless isn't as bad as it can get. Your race  _could_ have been wiped out," Will noted.

"I feel it would be rather hard to be born into an extinct race," Tul retorted while crossing his arms.

Will paused. "Fair point."

"And by the way, just call me Tul. Everyone else does."

The human nodded with a small smile. "So, Tul, mind if I ask what you did on that station? I saw a lot of tech in there."

Tul'Sorrin hesitated for a moment. "Eh, I guess there's no harm in opening up if you're going to let me stay on your ship for a little while. In addition to living on Olokun-2, I worked there as well."

Will leaned forward slightly. "Doing?"

"I'm a software engineer who works mostly with omnitool translators. I've probably worked on the program your omnitool uses. It's how I got interested in xenolinguistics."

"Hm," Will leaned back. "So you're a tech expert? Hacking and the like?"

"I wouldn't say I'm a hacker. Not by trade or by hobby. But if needed I can work my way around a security system." Tul shrugged casually.

Will smirked slightly at the cocky gesture. "How's the money in the omnitool translator business?"

"Good enough to buy a small space station," Tul replied coolly.

Will gave a bittersweet smile. "Thanks for taking all of this so... reasonably."

"Your portion of the blame is miniscule compared to that of those batarians," Tul'Sorrin halted himself and leaned forward. "By the way, if you're still unsure about what to do next, I have a suggestion."

Will raised his brows and leaned in as well. "I'm all ears."

"You need to find out what you're dealing with. They could be nothing but a band of mercs trying to make a fortune on the black market."

"Or...?" Will waited for him to continue.

"Or... we could be in over our heads. Either way, it would be good to know," Tul nodded as he finished his thought and leaned back.

"We?" Will narrowed his eyes with a small grin.

"What? I'm curious."

The human looked to the side as he considered the quarian's words. "We don't have many, or any, leads... and the only other place we know that they've been to is that facility on Lorek."

Tul nodded. "Might as well start there."

"What good is that gonna do? Everyone there is dead," Will argued.

"And you already checked the facilities for any physical evidence or security vids?" The quarian tilted his head to the side.

"Well... no. Alright, you've made your point. We'll stock up on Omega, then I'll ask Shansa and Eleena if they're up for a little trip to Lorek," Will stated with a confident nod.

"I'm glad we have a plan," Tul commented as he flipped on his holopad and looked down.

Will stood and pushed in his chair before turning to leave. "Let's hope it turns out to be a good one."


	7. Chapter 7

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 7**

_**MSV Hyperion, Docking Bay E-14, Omega** _

"So is that everything?"

Shansa spoke from the doorway of the Hyperion's airlock as Tul'Sorrin and Will approached pushing two dollies loaded with crates and footlockers. Will looked up to see her leaning casually against the bulkhead with a half-eaten seela fruit in her hand, a treat of Thessian origin that she often purchased when they docked at a station with decent trade connections. Will's purchases, on the other hand, were far less personally indulgent. The crates he and Tul pushed along contained a colorful variety of items ranging from food supplies to medi-gel, along with a few tightly sealed footlockers filled with weapon mods and even a few explosives.

"Should be."

Will pushed his dolly into the airlock as he answered and pushed it flush with the interior hatch. He turned and waved Tul'Sorrin up and directed him to push the second cart in as well.

"Did Eleena finish inspecting the hull?" Will glanced to Shansa and motioned for her to enter the airlock.

Shansa stepped in and tapped the control panel, beginning the decontamination sequence. "Yep. She said there was no significant damage."

As the outer airlock door shut the fine, decontaminating mist began to fill the chamber. Shansa quickly lifted the bottom of her shirt and used it to cover her seela fruit. She looked over the Tul as he stood watching the two humans.

"So Tul, are you gonna stay with us for a little while?" Shansa sounded hopeful as she asked.

The quarian nodded once. "Yes. For the time being."

Shansa smiled brightly. "Two new shipmates in less than a week. We're gonna be a real crew before long." She glanced to Will with a teasing grin.

Tul looked to the inner door as it began to slid apart. "Well, I think I'm technically just a passenger at the moment."

Will slid between the bulkhead and his dolly and stepped into the hall. He grabbed the front handlebar on the dolly and began hauling it toward the cargo bay. Tul and Shansa handled the other cart, bringing it into the hall and waiting for Will to return. After pushing the dolly into the cargo bay and locking it against the wall, Will turned back into the forward hall and nodded to the living quarters.

"Most of this stuff goes in there," he commented as Tul gave a push and slid the cart into the dining and living area.

Shansa nodded toward the cargo bay door. "What's in that one?"

Eleena entered the hall from the cargo bay. "Yeah, I thought we were getting food and meds. What's all that junk?"

Tul stepped into the hall with the others and glanced to Will. The human hesitated briefly before clearing his throat.

"How about I pitch you my plan for getting rid of the orb and killer batarian problem?" Will looked to the Eleena and Shansa as they stood beside one another.

"By all means," Eleena replied.

Shansa took a bite from her seela fruit and held it toward Eleena. The asari accepted the offer and grasped the fruit, taking a bite for herself before handing it back to Shansa, all while the two looked to Will.

"Alright... I think we should head back to Lorek and search the facility for anything that might give us insight toward the batarians' whereabouts and motive. That crate I put in the cargo bay is full of mods and combat supplies. You know, just in case." Will's eyes darted between the two women as he awaited their response.

Eleena shrugged and crossed her arms. "So... go to the research facility and poke around. Not much of a plan, is it?"

"Got a better idea?" Will raised a brow.

"Sadly, no," Eleena admitted flatly. "Shansa?"

Shansa took a bite from the ever-shrinking fruit and shook her head. "Nope."

Eleena gave along sigh as she stretched her back. "Okay. Fuck it. Let's go to Lorek."

"Try to contain your enthusiasm," Will remarked with a smirk. "This might be our only chance to shine some light on the situation."

Tul took a step toward the group and nodded. "He's right. There could be any number of things there that might lead us in the right direction. Security footage, shipping manifests, active research..."

Shansa finished her seela fruit with a final bite. "Alright. As long as I get to stay on the ship."

"Absolutely. Now get us clearance to leave and set us on course for Lorek," Will nodded to Shansa.

"Aye aye, Cap'n," Shansa trotted off toward the cockpit, tossing the core of the fruit into Will's hand as she passed by.

Will caught the core and leaned through the door of the living quarters, tossing it across the room and into the sink to deal with later. As he turned back to the hall he could see that Eleena was already hurrying back to the engineering compartment. Tul stood patiently a few feet away.

Will gave him a small smile. "Thanks for the plan, Tul."

"Anytime, Captain," the quarian replied. "And by the way, I will gladly accompany you into the facility if you so desire. I have a feeling you might need my technical expertise."

Will looked Tul up and down quickly. "Can you handle yourself in a fight?"

"I've lived alone in the Terminus Systems for nearly ten years." Tul motioned toward the pistol at his side. "And the ship I grew up on in the flotilla had mandatory security training for all able-bodied crew."

Will glanced down to the sidearm. "You know I picked up a few weapons on Omega if you want something with a little more punch."

Tul'Sorrin activated his crimson omnitool and tapped a few buttons, causing the orange and yellow tech drones that had accompanied him on the space station to appear at his side. Will smirked as he recognized the implication.

"Issuing orders to these two keeps me pretty occupied in a fight. I think my pistol is enough for now." Tul waved his hand, causing the drones to blink out of sight.

Will felt the ship shift slightly as it began to drift away from Omega and accelerate into the traffic lane that would take them into open space.

"Looks like we're on our way," he remarked. "We'd better rest up. It'll be a fun day on Lorek."

* * *

" _Entering the storm. We'll be at the facility in five minutes."_

Will glanced up as Shansa's voice rang out from above them. He had a lot to do in the next five minutes; half of his armor was still sitting in the locker in front of him. He quickly tightened his chest piece into place and began working on his biceps. While Will worked on his arms he looked across the bunk room to see Eleena was already fitting the final pieces of her armor. Tul sat on what he had claimed as his bunk and was doing work on his omnitool that caused his shields to flicker on and off. Will assumed he was getting diagnostics of some sort.

"I was hoping the weather would be better this time around." Will directed the comment toward Eleena as he finished fastening his gloves.

"I wouldn't hold your breath if we come back for a third visit," she stated. "Lorek has perpetual storm fronts moving from south to north. I betcha this is one of them."

"Uggh. I hate the rain," Tul muttered.

Eleena stretched out as she got used to her fully armored body. "I thought your suit was enviro-controlled. How the fuck would you even know that rain is irritating?"

Tul'Sorrin shrugged. "I don't like a wet mask. Makes it hard to see."

Will grinned as he finished suiting himself up. "He's got a point."

Eleena gave a "true enough" smirk as she slid her helmet into place. Will did the same and brought up his omnitool to do a quick ready check for his shield and comm system. He looked up to see Eleena and Tul'Sorrin had approached him and were standing at the ready. He glanced to either one of them and realized for the first time that he was actually leading these people. Will subdued what he deemed childish excitement and grabbed his M-15 hanging in the locker, sliding it onto his back.

"Alright." Will took a deep breath. "Let's get this done. I wanna check every inch of every room in that facility, got it?"

"Got it, boss," Eleena replied with a nod.

"Of course. Might I suggest that I locate their security database first and work from there?" Tul was still working on his omnitool as he asked.

"When Eleena and I were here before I noticed a security room near the entrance. Why don't you start there while she and I do a sweep for anything physical," Will looked to Eleena. She nodded in agreement.

Tul finally deactivated his omnitool and looked up with a nod of affirmation. "Acknowledged, Captain."

" _Heads up,"_ Shansa's voice announced.  _"We're gonna be setting down in about thirty seconds."_

He turned and exited into the hall, giving a look toward the cockpit as he did before making his way to the airlock and opening the first door. He stepped back and nodded for Eleena and Tul'Sorrin to enter ahead of him. As he took his first step into the airlock behind them Shansa's voice broke over the comm once again.

" _Will! Get up here!"_

He raised a finger to Eleena and Tul. "Wait here." Will quickly spun on his heel and ran to the cockpit, ducking in and looking down to Shansa. "What's wrong?"

She nodded to the viewport. Will leaned down and peered through the large window before him. It was tough to see with the driving rain, but Will immediately located the issue: a black Kodiak dropship sat stationary at the center of the landing platform. The dropship appeared to have its thrusters deactivated and, even more worrisome, looked unoccupied. Will felt his heart drop; their job just become much more complicated.

"Damn it. Do you see any decals? Is it the local authorities?" Despite his asking, Will was sure Shansa saw nothing, just as he did.

"No idea." She paused for a moment. "What should I do?"

Will sighed and stood back up. "Take us in near the edge of the platform. We'll jump out and head in."

"Be careful," Shansa quickly demanded.

"I will. Circle around nearby in case we need to evac."

"You got it," Shansa nosed the ship forward and began rotating to bring the starboard side up to the landing platform.

Will took one last look at the Kodiak before turning and making his way back to the airlock. Eleena leaned against the wall of the decontamination chamber with her arms crossed while Tul'Sorrin looked down to his M-3 Predator, checking over the heat venting systems. Will reached for his rifle as he stepped into the chamber and shut the inner airlock door behind him. Eleena looked down to his rifle and stood up from the wall.

"What's going on?" The asari reached for her SMG, holding it at her side.

Will turned off the safety on his rifle. "We might have company."

Tul'Sorrin looked up from his pistol. "Company?"

Before he could say more Will had reached over to the door controls and opened the outer airlock. Rain and heavy winds immediately began filling the room as the door slid apart to reveal the gray, desolate hillside they had visited a few days before. The group stepped up to the outer bulkhead and looked out as the Hyperion slowly descended to just a few feet from the landing pad, offering them all a view of the complication that Shansa had spotted.

"Well, shit," Eleena stated bluntly.

With a clearer view than before Will could see that the black Kodiak had a registration number printed on one of the tail thrusters. As the Hyperion leveled off about a meter from the surface of the landing pad he jumped down and whipped his rifle to attention. Eleena and Tul leapt to the ground behind him with their own weapons readied. Despite being full armored Will could tell that the rain was as bad or worse than it was before. He hurried from the edge of the platform to where the Kodiak was landed and knelt beside it with Eleena and Tul falling into position at his side. He lowered his weapon and activated his comm link to Shansa.

"We're clear."

" _I'll be nearby. Call if you need me."_  As she spoke the airlock on the side of the ship slid shut.

Will watched as the Hyperion's thrusters fully ignited and the ship ascended back into the nearly-black clouds above them.

"Tul, follow me." Will ordered as he moved along the side of the dropship.

As they reached the tail thruster with the printed ID Tul pulled up his omnitool and nodded toward the numbers. "Want me to run a search?"

"Read my mind," Will replied as he leaned out from behind the shuttle.

As Will peered around the edge of the Kodiak he could see the doors of the facility were still open, either from their previous visit or whoever was here now. Unlike last time, however, the base of the walls were lined with dim, red emergency lights that looked to provide enough light to anyone who might want to look around.

"Hey Eleena," Will waited as the asari stepped around Tul and up by his side. "Take a look."

She leaned around the shuttle briefly. "At least they were kind enough to turn the lights on for us."

"Maybe they set out snacks, too," Will muttered as he glanced back down to Tul'Sorrin. "Tul, you find anything?"

The quarian shook his head. "Private registration. That's all I'm getting."

Will took a deep breath to calm his nerves and raised his rifle. "Alright, let's move."

His squad nodded affirmatively and raised their weapons as Will slowly moved out from behind the Kodiak. He kept his eyes and scope trained at the center of the open double-wide cargo doors as he took his first step toward the facility, activating his weapon's flashlight as he did so; behind him two more lights illuminated. His steps were cautious, but not timid, as the gap between the group and the doors closed. As they grew closer Will could see that the bodies that had been sprawled across the entrance hall were now lined against the wall on one side, the red emergency lights giving them an eerie back-glow. The driving rain ceased as they moved under the awning and into the security checkpoint. Will activated his comm, still holding his rifle up as he did.

"Tul, there's the security room," Will stated with a nod to the large glass window to their left.

"I see it. The door is probably just around the corner," Tul responded.

Without the rain diminishing his sight Will moved much quicker as they filed through the inner doors. Tul looked down to the dead bodies as the walked by.

"Were they dead when you were here last time?" He sounded a bit shaken.

"Yeah," Eleena responded quickly as they walked through puddles of semi-dry blood. "But they weren't all nicely lined up."

"Maybe it  _is_  the planetary authorities," Will suggested as the turned to the left.

Tul let out a disapproving 'hmm'. "They took a shuttle with enough room for a dozen officers, but didn't leave anyone to guard the door? I doubt it."

"Good point," Will noted as they rounded the corner to an open door.

After a brief once-over with his light Will stepped aside and motioned for Tul. The quarian holstered his pistol and hurried through the door. After a few seconds he located what appeared to be a networked terminal for the station's security. The monitor, along with a few others, was already activated.

"Someone used this terminal about an hour ago," Tul informed them. "All the security doors have been unlocked already."

"Can you access any of the security records or vids?" Will and Eleena continued to keep their eyes on the hallway as he asked.

On the wall before them the light from the security terminal phased and danced as Tul'Sorrin worked.

"It looks like they are both archived at the end of each day, but the archive is encrypted. It will take me some time to access it." Tul had already begun his work as he informed them of the situation.

Will glanced over to Eleena. "We should poke around while he works on that. See if we can't find anything laying around that we can use."

"And if we run into our guests?" Eleena looked back to him.

"If they attack us we'll attack back. That's kinda the point of bringing guns."

"Yeah, thanks for the info, Captain Smart-ass. I meant what if we run into them and they turn out to be a whole squad of salarian STG or something?" Eleena shook her head in irritation.

Will's grin was concealed behind his helmet; he was starting to enjoy teasing her. "Throw some biotics at them and we run. Simple enough."

"How the fuck have you survived this long?" Eleena let out a sigh. "Fine, let's go. But you're taking point."

"Fine with me." Will glanced back into the security room. "You gonna be okay here, Tul?"

Tul'Sorrin looked away from his work to activate his omnitool. The two drones appeared at his side and quickly scurried through the door and down the hall a few feet in either direction before stopping.

"I should be okay," the quarian replied before returning to his work.

Feeling satisfied that Tul'Sorrin would be fine, Will walked the few feet to the entrance hall and turned left. Eleena came to rest at his side, staring down the long hall before them. Will wasn't sure what was more unsettling, the pitch blackness of their first visit or the dim red lights of the second.

" _Captain Hume, Eleena, I found a map of the facility that might come in handy,"_  Tul's voice reported over the comm.  _"Sending it to you now."_

Will looked over to Eleena. "Keep your gun ready."

She nodded as he slid his weapon onto his back and activated his omnitool. He downloaded the map from Tul's message and gave it a quick glance.

"Two levels. The elevator is through the doorway at the end of this hall," Will noted. "Looks like this floor is just administration and living quarters. The lower floor houses the research labs."

"If someone is here looking for data they're probably down there," Eleena pointed out.

"Exactly." Will closed his omnitool and retrieved his rifle. "Let's hope we can find whatever they're looking for first."

Will raised his rifle and started off toward the end of the long hallway and the elevator door. He noticed that all of the doors they passed by were open, most likely due to the same override that had activated the emergency lighting. As the pair reached the elevator Eleena tapped the call button and turned back to make another quick look over the hallway. Will held his rifle up as the elevator doors slowly slid apart. Empty. Will's heart was pounding against his chest as they stepped in. He did his best to steady his hand as he reached for the console and ordered the elevator do descend. Will and Eleena exchanged brief glances as the elevator car came to a stop and a soft ping radiated around them.

The door parted to reveal a large room that appeared to be the central research chamber. Assorted lab equipment lay scattered around the dozen or so workstations, all illuminated by the same unsettling red glow. Each wall of the room had at least three doors leading into what Will assumed were isolated work spaces.

"This place is creepy as fuck," Eleena muttered as they stepped into the room.

"You don't have to tell me," Will quickly replied.

They walked to the center of the room and made a quick scan of their surroundings. One of the numerous work stations or terminals nearby had to have useful information. Before Will could suggest a course of action a soft thump echoed out from his side. He glanced over his shoulder to see a massive figure step from one of the adjacent rooms. As Will spun to face it with his weapon raised the unmistakable deep and gravelly of a krogan rang out.

"I don't think you should be here."


	8. Chapter 8

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 8**

_**Unlisted Research Facility, Lorek** _

Will's eyes barely had time to confirm the stranger before him was a krogan before he dove behind the nearest workbench with his rifle firmly grasped in his right hand. He pressed his back against the table and glanced to his left where Eleena had been standing. She had followed the same instinct and taken cover behind the workbench adjacent to his and was readying her SMG. He pulled himself into a squatting position and brought his rifle across his chest. He could barely hear over the sound of his racing heart, but he was pretty certain the krogan was making no movements toward them.

"Who are you?" Will shouted from behind his cover. "What are you doing here?"

Will waited anxiously for a response. As far as he was concerned the answer, or lack thereof, would dictate whether or not he and Eleena would be fighting for their lives. He really didn't want to die in this dark, cold basement. A few seconds that passed before the krogan responded. They felt like minutes.

"How 'bout you answer the same questions first," the gruff voice replied.

Will glanced over to see that Eleena was slowly crawling to the end of her table and around the corner. She was slowly moving to flank the krogan.

"What?" Will turned his attention back to their guest. "I asked you first!"

The krogan laughed. "And I could have killed you by now! Answer before you make me."

Will gritted his teeth. "Fine. Name's William Hume. I'm the captain of a small freighter." Will looked over to see Eleena had crept out of view.

"And the asari?" The krogan's voice was surprisingly patient.

"Eleena. She's my engineer," Will answered.

"Hmm..." The krogan paused briefly. "Pretty well armed for a cargo crew. Also a curious place to be. What are you doing here?"

Will swallowed and took a deep breath. "We're looking for something. I got my crew into a bad situation and we're looking for a way out."

Will could hear the sound of the krogan rummaging around with whatever gear he was holding before he responded. "Interesting."

This krogan was puzzling Will. He had only spoken to a few and none had been this civil. However, Will also noted to himself that the batarian they had encountered on Tul's station, Narek, was also rather level headed. He did his best to stifle his uncertainty as he spoke.

"Now... I've answered your questions. Your turn."

The krogan shifted, causing some of his gear to rattle. "Alright. My name is Kallux of clan Raik."

Will nodded to himself. "Okay... and why are you here, Kallux?"

"I suppose you could say I'm looking for some people," Kallux replied curtly. "And you're not them."

Will silently exhaled a sigh of relief before reestablishing a confident tone. "That's good to hear."

"I have no intention of killing you, by the way. Unless you do something stupid." The krogan seemed almost amused. "You can come out if you'd rather talk face to face like you've got a quad."

Will turned his head and glanced over the side of the table. Despite the dim lighting he could see that the armored krogan was standing in a rather nonthreatening stance with his pistol pointed toward the floor. He gripped his rifle and slowly pulled himself to his feet. Will held his rifle barrel toward the floor to keep the light from shining straight into the krogan's face.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Will stated. "Otherwise things might've gotten unpleasant for both of us."

Just then, Eleena rose from behind a lab table at Kallux's eight o'clock with her SMG drawn. "Very, very unpleasant."

Kallux turned his head just slightly. It was clear that the position of their eyes gave the krogan a much wider field of view than a human or asari, yet somehow Eleena had evaded Kallux's sight until she was nearly behind him.

The krogan's lips curled into an approving smile. "It's hard to flank a krogan. Consider yourself complimented."

Eleena lowered her weapon and grinned cockily. "I'm sure the lighting didn't help you."

"Yes, speaking of which..."

As the krogan spoke he reached down into a small pack on his belt and pulled a thin stick that appeared to be a chem-light. As he cracked the device a warm, white light began radiating from his hand. Kallux tossed the light onto the ground a few feet in front of him, causing the whole room to become illuminated. Will squinted and averted his eyes as they adjusted to the sudden influx of light. He slowly turned back to see the krogan fully visible for the first time.

He was the model of any krogan warrior in terms of physical appearance. His tan facial tone was accented by a dark brown crest and deep red eyes. Stretched across the left side of his neck were two deep, parallel scars at least eight inches in length. His armor was a faded, milky silver that almost seemed to absorb light that would normally reflect off of the light tone. Will's eye was caught by the logo at the dead center of his chestplate that consisted of a red circle approximately nine inches in diameter. At the bottom left of the red circle were three small, silver circles arranged triangularly, all equidistant from one another. His gear belt was fully stocked, as Will had expected, with a holster that would fit the pistol he held away from Will and Eleena. What Will was most curious about, however, was that which he could not see entirely: a massive object slung over his back and held by a strap that crossed from over the krogan's shoulder to down around his waist.

"So your crew is in trouble, hm?" Kallux rolled his neck as he spoke. "What is it you expect to find here that'll get you out of it?"

Will saw Eleena holster her weapon and begin making her way toward him. He glanced back to Kallux as he replied. "Anything."

The krogan smirked. "We'll there isn't much anything around here. What kinda trouble are you in?"

"We've got a bunch of fucking mercs that won't get off our asses," Eleena stated as she stepped up beside Will with her arms crossed.

"That's the quick version," Will elaborated. "We pissed them off by not handing over an artifact that we were supposed to be delivering to this facility."

"So why not hand it over?" Kallux narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Hand over our only leverage so they can kill us?" Eleena narrowed her eyes in return.

"Well you never said they were planning on killing you," the krogan replied.

"Sorry." Will replied sarcastically. "Forgot to mention that part. We think they're the ones that swept this facility so we came to look for any evidence or indicators of their motive."

Kallux turned and slowly began to pace. "Interesting. I have a short bounty list. Three batarians named Dors Jall, Prall Narek, and Nox Ag'aren."

Will and Eleena gave each other a sideways glance as Kallux spoke the names.

The krogan continued to pace. "My sources indicate that one of their organization's ships visited this facility within the past few weeks." He stopped and turned to the others. "I'm here for the same reason you are. And I think we might be looking for the same people."

Will looked back to Kallux. "Seeing as we killed a batarian named Jall a week ago after he confronted us on Omega... I think you might be right."

"On top of that," Eleena quickly added, "we tried to fire-roast some prick named Narek who threatened to kill us just the other day."

"Unfortunately we couldn't confirm that he was dead before his ship destroyed the station we had been on." Will watched as the krogan nodded slowly in consideration.

Kallux stared at Will and Eleena in silence for a few seconds. "Captain Hume, I'd like to make you an offer."

Will's eyes darted to Eleena briefly to see her shrug. He looked back to the krogan and nodded. "Go ahead."

"It seems we have coinciding goals. I think it would be best for both of us to continue pursuing these mercs together. As the krogan say... seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend." Kallux eyed Will carefully as he waited for a response.

Will was taken aback by the offer. Even Eleena seemed surprised that the krogan had offered his assistance. As Will ran through the scenario in his head he couldn't find any significant setbacks to having a damned krogan on his side. Will looked up after his moment of thought and nodded.

"I like that saying." Will stepped toward Kallux. "Let's take these fuckers down."

The krogan grinned and holstered his pistol before extending his hand. Will slid his rifle onto his back and reached out to grab his hand and shake it firmly. Eleena stepped up to Will's side and was offered the same gesture from Kallux, which she took respectfully. As he brought his hand back Will's omnitool blinked and the sound of Tul's voice broke through his headset.

" _Captain, this is Tul. Do you copy?"_

Will raised his comm to reply. "Yeah, I hear you. What's the situation?"

" _I've got access to the security vids. I'm downloading everything from the past month,"_  Tul informed him.

"Sounds good. We'll keep looking down here," Will replied.

" _Affirmative. Tul out."_

Will glanced to Kallux as he stood watching Will talk inside his helmet. The human terminated his comm with Tul and pulled up his omnitool. "Kallux, I'm sending you our comm frequency."

Kallux activated his own omnitool and made a few quick adjustments. "Got it. I'm patched in."

"So let's finish searching this place and get the hell out of here, yeah?" Eleena looked between Kallux and Will expectantly.

The krogan shook his head. "I've been down here for hours. There's nothing here; all the consoles were wiped recently. The offices upstairs didn't have anything either."

Will let out a sigh. "Well let's hope Tul finds something in those security vids."

Kallux looked to him in surprise. "You got into the security archive?"

Eleena smirked. "We've got a quarian. He's very good."

Will turned and made one last visual sweep of the room. "Kallux, if you're sure there's nothing here then I guess we might as well head up."

The krogan nodded toward the elevator. "After you, Hume."

Will eyed the krogan briefly. "Yeah... after me."

He drew his pistol and turned to walk back through the rows of workbenches. Behind him Will could hear the heavy thumps of Kallux's boots and the lighter clacks of Eleena's. Despite the fact that Kallux had supposedly swept the area his eyes continued to scan the floor and ceiling carefully, but it was growing difficult; the illumination that the chem-light provided was fading. Will reached down and tapped a button on his omnitool to activate his wrist-mounted flashlight. As they reached the elevator Will tapped the call button and the door immediately parted.

"So tell me," Kallux began as they stepped into the elevator car. "Can you two hold your own in a fight?"

Will pressed a finger to the console and ordered the elevator to ascend. "We've survived this long. Plus, I think our odds might be a little stronger with a krogan on our side."

"I'll second that," Eleena added.

The elevator came to a stop and its door slid apart to reveal the long hall of the first level. Will wasted no time stepping from the elevator and leading the group down the hall to where Tul was working in the security room. As they rounded the corner one of Tul's drones buzzed and scurried back to the quarian. The group halted in surprise and watched as a few seconds later Tul'Sorrin darted out into the hall with his pistol drawn toward them.

"Oh! It's just you..." Tul began to lower his weapon. "Damned IFF on my drones must be-"

The quarian froze mid sentence for a second and whipped his pistol back up and took aim toward Kallux. "Krogan! Behind you!"

Will threw his hands up. "Woahwoahwoah! He's with us!"

Tul held his shot steadily. Kallux still pointed his sidearm toward the floor and merely narrowed his eyes in irritation. Tul's eyes darted between Will and Kallux.

"What do you mean?" Tul's voice remained wary.

Eleena rolled her eyes and stepped up to Tul'Sorrin. "He's after the same people we are. He's  _with us_." She smacked his hand, causing the quarian to fumble and drop his pistol.

Tul stood perfectly still for a few seconds. "Oh... that makes sense," he muttered sheepishly before leaning down and retrieving his weapon.

Will shifted to the side and nodded toward the krogan. "This is Raik Kallux. He's after the same people we are."

Tul holstered his pistol. "Oh, we're  _after_ them now, are we?"

Kallux extended a hand to the quarian. "Yes. We are."

Tul'Sorrin hesitated briefly before accepting the hand and shaking. "Lovely. Sorry about pointing my gun at you."

The krogan shrugged. "Understandable. Just don't do it again."

"That shouldn't be an issue," Tul replied as he looked over to Will. "I've got everything. We can look through all the data on the ship."

Will nodded. "Good. I've had enough of this place."

He stepped through the group and toward the exit with the others turning to follow behind him. He paused and looked down to the bodies lined up beside the wall.

Will glanced over his shoulder to Kallux who responded before Will could speak. "They didn't deserve death. And they certainly didn't deserve to be left in a messy pile."

The human nodded in return. "We'll contact the authorities before we leave. Hopefully they'll collect them." Will looked back through the door and out into the pouring rain as he raised the comm back to the ship. "Shansa, we're ready for a pickup."

" _Roger! Be there in about three minutes."_

"So how big is this ship you've got?" Kallux inquired as Will led the group through the security checkpoint.

"Big enough. Why?" Will sighed as he stepped out from under the awning and into the rain.

Kallux didn't seem to mind as his bare head and neck were drenched nearly instantly by the storm. "Because I'm not just gonna leave my Kodiak here."

Will shook his head in exhasperation. He had completely forgotten about the black shuttle. He looked to the side of the platform where the dropship sat motionless. Will grinned and turned back to Kallux.

"The starboard side of the ship has a huge airlock for loading cargo in low-atmosphere. I bet we can squeeze it into the cargo bay."

"Sounds good. I'll fire up the thrusters," Kallux replied with a nod.

As the krogan turned toward his Kodiak an ear shattering screech rang out from up the hill behind them. Before they could turn to look for the source of the sound a boulder came flying down from the mountainside and crashing into the front of the Kodiak, shattering the front viewports and denting the metal frame. Will, Eleena and Tul all drew their weapons and began scanning the hillside behind them. It didn't take long for them to see the purveyor of the sudden mayhem.

Racing down the rocky hill was a massive, eight-legged lizard-like creature. Its skin was a rough and lumpy looking collection of scales the same color as the gray boulders that it crawled upon. Arching up from it's neck we two slender, thrashing appendages each tipped with three clawed digits. As the native beast rapidly approached the group one of the arms on its neck reached for a passing boulder and hurled it toward them. The rock came crashing down a few feet away from Tul and sent debris flying across the landing pad behind them.

"Get behind something!" Will shouted at the top of his lungs.

Will and Eleena sprinted for the Kodiak and dove into cover. Will whipped his rifle to attention and glanced over to see Tul taking cover behind a crate on the far side of the landing pad. Kallux, on the other hand, had buckled into a combat stance and had holstered his pistol. Standing in the middle of the platform the krogan reached to his back and spun the massive object he had been carrying to his side. The strap slung over his shoulder held the object as his right hand found what looked like a rifle grip on the bottom and his left grabbed a handle on the top. With the apparent weapon in hand a massive barrel suddenly extended from the front and various pieces of the gun expanded into place.

Will looked back to see that the six foot tall and fifteen foot long creature had stopped on the awning of the facility. It let out another screech as the weapon in Kallux's hands suddenly erupted in gunfire. The weapon gave a loud thump every half second or so, each one sending a high caliber projectile into the gray beast before them. The first few rounds impacted the scales and caused the creature to stagger slightly, perhaps in surprise that they would fight back. Will suddenly recognized his passivity and threw his sights on the creature's head, pulling the trigger. Eleena and Tul followed his example and unleashed a hail of gunfire into their foe. The creature crouched down before leaping out over the platform and landing behind them, its eight sets of claws digging into the landing pad and sending metal shavings peeling up from around each paw.

"Look out!" Will shouted as they all turned to face the beast.

One of the creature's arms had already whipped down to retrieve the boulder it had hurled at Tul. It swung its arm back and brought the massive rock flying toward Kallux. Despite the krogan's quick reflexes it caught his leg armor and sent him tumbling back a few feet. With the krogan on the ground the creature turned to Will, swinging one of its arms down toward the human at a bone crushing speed. Will barely had time to recognize the danger before a blast of blue and purple biotic energy impacted the deadly appendage and knocked it off course.

The three-clawed arm slammed into one of the thrusters of the Kodiak a few feet away from Will. He lurched away and grabbed Eleena, diving them both behind the front of the shuttle and rolling to the far side. The human and asari righted themselves and drew their weapons, unleashing another hail of shots into the creature as it reared and prepared its arms for another strike. Will braced himself to leap out of the way only to see two streaks of electricity strike the beast's face and send it tumbling back. Will jerked his head to the center of the platform to see Tul's drones closing in on their foe. Behind him a loud grunt caught his ear as Kallux, having pulled himself to his feet, began marching toward the creature once again. The loud thumps of the krogan's cannon rang out as he opened fire on the stunned enemy.

" _I see gunfire! What the hell is going on down there?!"_  Shansa's voice rang out in Will's ear as he squeezed off a burst from his rifle.

"We made a friend!" Will replied as his M-15 vented its heat. "Actually two, a good one and a bad one!"

Without warning the driving rain ceased. The occupants of the platform barely had time to acknowledge what had happened before the sheet of rain resumed as though it had never stopped. Will looked up to see the Hyperion had passed over from behind them and was banking into a turn to pull up beside the landing pad.

"Will!"

Eleena's shout brought Will's focus back to the battle as he looked back down to see the creature had recomposed itself and was crouching to leap again. The animal's scales were barely scratched from the gunfire that Tul, Eleena and Kallux continued to pour on. Indiscriminate fire wasn't working. Will's eyes darted across the creature's body as he searched for a weak point. The beast gave another guttural screech and raised its head into the air which exposed its neck and underbelly.

"The throat!" Will shouted into his comm. "Look at the throat! No armor!"

The underside of the creature was indeed less scaly; the neck in particular was almost smooth in its appearance. The squad quickly recognized this and focused their fire on the throat, but it wasn't enough. The animal lowered its head and screeched in anger before another burst of electricity shot out and into the creature's face, stunning it.

"Make it raise its head again!" Kallux ordered into the comm as he leaned forward into a charging position. "I can kill it!"

Will looked down and began racking his brain for a way to make the creature rear again. Will could hear the low rumble of the Hyperion's thrusters; he looked up to see it had circled around and was decelerating next to the landing platform. His eyes widened slightly and he opened his comm.

"Shansa! Push the thrusters to full power and fly back from where you just came!" Will shouted.

" _What? Why? That'll send me to the other side of the planet in a few minutes!"_

He shook his head in frustration. "Just do it for a few seconds and circle back!"

Will raised his M-15 once again as he saw the creature shake its head in fury from the shock Tul had given it. Before Will could take another shot, however, the Hyperion swung ninety degrees, tilted slightly upwards and blasted over the platform and up over the hill behind them. A deafening shockwave of sound from the ship's engines followed as it passed by, causing the creature to jerk its head up in an attempt to find the source of the noise. Kallux wasted no time. The krogan leapt forward and sprinted at the beast at full speed. Just before he reached the animal Kallux pushed in a button on the top handle of his cannon causing two foot-long omniblades to materialize on either side of the barrel. The krogan let out a roar and thrust his weapon forward while his sprint brought him barreling into the creature.

The twin fang-like omniblades pierced the exposed throat of the beast and penetrated to the figurative hilt. A cry more horrendous than any of those before erupted from the creature as it thrashed its neck in pain, sending pitch black blood spraying from both its mouth and wound. Kallux did not hesitate in twisting his cannon and the blades adorned on it before unleashing another burst of fire up into the beast's neck. The creature stumbled once then collapsed lifelessly to the ground as Kallux dove out of the way with his weapon in hand and the omniblades retracted. Will stared in stunned awe at the brutality and efficiency of the kill.

The inky black blood that spilled from the dead creature was quickly being washed from Kallux's armor by the rain. The krogan made a motion and his cannon collapsed back into its more portable form as he slung it onto his back and turned to the others.

"Good thinking with the ship, Hume," Kallux announced into the comm.

Will and Eleena glanced to one another and then back to the krogan before holstering their weapons and moving out to meet him. Tul trotted up from the opposite side of the platform as well, his pistol still drawn and aimed in the direction of their deceased foe. Will found it hard to speak before he shook his head with laugh.

"I... I've gotta say. I'm impressed with the new hire," Will joked with a grin.

"Krogan have a reputation for a reason," Tul quickly added.

Eleena smirked and glanced to Will and Tul. "Yeah... I'm not gonna lie. I feel a whole lot better about our odds with Kallux to fuck up any giant monsters we stumble across."

"Don't underestimate your own value; you thought on your feet and reacted fast." The krogan looked to the others and nodded. "All of you."

Will nodded and looked up as the Hyperion soared overhead once again and prepared to circle around for their pickup. "I think this little arrangement is gonna work out just fine."


	9. Chapter 9

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 9**

_**MSV Hyperion, Father System, in orbit over Lorek** _

Eleena leaned up with a sigh and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She was perched on her knees atop the crippled Kodiak with her eyes locked on the thruster that had taken a beating from the creature on Lorek. She glanced over to her satchel of tools and pulled a thick set of mechanical metal shears from it before returning to work. In the cabin below her Kallux was busy tossing bags and boxes of his supplies out of the opened side hatch. Each one gave a loud thump or clatter as it landed on the cargo bay floor a few feet away. Will watched from the doorway to the forward hall as they worked and shook his head in slight disbelief that the shuttle had operated long enough to be loaded onto the ship. He could hear footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Shansa approaching from the cockpit.

"We'll stay in automated orbit until you say otherwise," she stated as she stepped up beside him and leaned against the bulkhead, staring at the Kodiak and their new ally.

"Good. Hopefully Tul finds something in those security vids that can help us." Will hid his worry as best he could. If they didn't get something out of those vids they'd be at a dead end.

"So... a krogan, huh?" Shansa eyed Kallux as he stepped out of the Kodiak and shut the hatch.

"He seems trustworthy enough," Will responded. "And he definitely levels the playing field."

"No arguments about that. I saw that thing you guys killed from the cockpit."

Will cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Hey, Kallux. Come meet our helmsman."

The krogan looked up from his pile of boxes and satchels with a nod and started walking toward Will and Shansa. Kallux looked to the humans as he stopped a few feet in front of them.

"Kallux of clan Raik," the krogan stated as he extended his hand.

Shansa smiled and accepted his hand with her own. "Shansa Fischer. Pleased to meet you."

Kallux shook her hand once and nodded. "So you're the pilot?"

"I sure am," she replied. "And you're the muscle?"

The krogan grinned. "Sure."

"Look at that, everybody's getting along," Will quipped as he peered beyond them to watch Eleena work.

Kallux motioned back toward the Kodiak. "Ever flown one of those?"

Shansa peered to the dropship and shook her head. "Na. But how hard could it be?"

The krogan laughed. "I like you."

Shansa grinned and looked over to Will. "I'm gonna go check on Tul and see if he's found anything."

He nodded in return. "Good idea." Will watched as Shansa turned and headed back to the crew's quarters before looking back to Kallux. "So what's the status on the shuttle?"

The krogan turned to face the Kodiak and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "Your engineer is working on the damaged thruster. Said it won't be more than a few hours. The structural damage, though..."

He trailed off, and for good reason. It was obvious that the damage to the front of the shuttle would have to be worked on in a shop. The shattered viewports might have been fixable if they could get the parts, but the disfigured frame around them would require a specialist.

"I'm sure we can find someone on Omega who can get it back into flying shape," Will assured him.

Kallux nodded as he watched Eleena working diligently with the thruster. "I know I a guy. We can take it to him when when we have time."

Will nodded. "Sounds good." He looked over to the krogan's pile of supplies. "So what's all the gear?"

"Weapons, explosives, survival gear." Kallux stood up from the wall. "Give me a hand with it, would ya?"

Will followed the krogan as he set off before getting a response. As they approached the pile he and Kallux flanked either side of a rather large crate and knelt down to hoist it up between them.

"Got anywhere I can keep this stuff?" Kallux questioned as Will started walking them toward the forward hall.

"Yeah... I think so," Will replied.

Will guided them to the wall next to the door where they had been standing a minute earlier and motioned for Kallux to lower the crate with him. The container made a deep thud as it dropped a few inches to the ground and Will stepped over to the wall. He tapped a button that activated a small control panel by the door and with a touch of a few buttons a long workbench began folding out from the wall. The sturdy workbench was at least ten feet long and in the recess it had folded out from were dozens of shelves and drawers completely empty and open for use. Will stepped back with a grin.

"I know we'd find a use for this thing someday," Will commented.

"What the hell? Thanks a lot for telling me about that!" Eleena called from the Kodiak. "I've been storing all my tools in my locker!"

Will turned around to see her looking up from her work and shaking her head. He stepped over to the other side of the door and with a few quick taps of his fingers made an identical bench fold out on the left side of the door. He looked back to the Kodiak to see Eleena still shaking her head, but now with her palm covering her face.

"Hey, you never asked!" He shouted. "Enjoy your new workspace!"

Will grinned to himself and walked back over to Kallux. The krogan was leaning down before the crate they had carried over and began unlatching the locks. Will watched as the lid slowly opened to reveal the massive cannon that had been slung over his back on Lorek. Various replacement parts surrounded the weapon in bins and containers. Kallux reached in and pulled the gun from its holding and lifted it onto the workbench.

"I've gotta clean this thing out," Kallux commented. "Lots of blood in the barrel."

Will chuckled. "That's a problem I'm okay with at the moment."

The krogan grinned. "True enough. Let's move the rest of this junk over."

Over the next fifteen minutes Will and Kallux hauled all eleven boxes and bags of equipment that had been in the Kodiak to the workbench. The krogan slid most of them under the table and pulled the large crate that his cannon had been stored in to the center. He began methodically moving each piece of spare hardware into the bins and shelves that lined the wall behind the workbench. Will crossed his arms and watched in silence for a few moments before speaking again.

"So, you're a bounty hunter?"

Kallux grunted and shook his head as he lifted a heavy looking replacement barrel out of the crate and shoved it onto the table. "Not exactly. I do more than just bounties."

Will raised a hand and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So you're a merc?"

The krogan shrugged. "If you want to give it a name."

The human eyed the red and silver logo on Kallux's chestpiece. "Is that mark on your chest part of your merc band's getup?"

Kallux stood and examined the cooling dampener in his hand carefully before deciding it was in poor condition and tossing it to the end of the workbench. As he turned his attention back to Will he looked down to his chest and paused.

"It's not really a merc group," Kallux explained as he resumed his work. "I belong to a small organization called the Red Moon Collective. Though, calling us an organization implies much more structure than there really is. It's more or less a group of like-minded individuals with a certain... skill set... who've agreed upon a creed that dictates the work we perform."

Will's brow was furrowed in intrigue. "Go on."

The krogan pulled the final components from his crate and tossed them into a bin. "We're all skilled mercenaries who have a certain distaste for the exploitation of innocents."

Will nodded slowly. "So how does that work? I imagine a lot of people who would hire a mercenary  _don't_  necessarily care about the exploitation of innocents."

Kallux smirked as he pulled his weapon over and pressed a button on the underside causing it to expand into its full, combat-ready form. His massive hand gripped the base of the barrel and gave it an intense jerk of his wrist, unlocking it and letting him pull the heavy barrel from the body of the gun. He set the barrel on the table and looked over to Will, now ready to reply.

"You're not wrong. But the greatest asset our organization provides is a name for those who have been wronged to call out for." Kallux turned his eyes back to the weapon on the table in front of him. "Even so, we do our research. We perform checks and reconnaissance on the subject of any assignment before taking action."

Will recrossed his arms and shook his head. "I've gotta admit, Kallux... you're shattering all my preconceptions about krogan."

Kallux snorted in amusement. "The overwhelming majority of my people are exactly what you think they are. I'm the only krogan member of the Collective."

The human let a bittersweet smile cross his lips. "So, you said you do your own research on your targets. What've you got on our friends?"

The krogan slid open a compartment on the side of his cannon and reached in to retrieve a heat-sink the size of Will's fist. "Unfortunately," Kallux began as he set the component aside and peered into the cavity, "nothing helpful to us now. I was hired by a wealthy turian businessman who had his family abducted about a year ago. Millions of credits to the Shadow Broker later... he got the names of the two batarians who led the raid on the transport his family was on: Jall and Narek. More importantly, he got the name of their boss. Nox Ag'aren."

Will leaned slightly closer and nodded. "So you think this Ag'aren guy is the one who's running their operation?"

Kallux picked up the heat-sink and slid it back into his gun. "Don't know for sure. All I know is I'm getting paid to bring him in."

"Hey, Will."

He looked over his shoulder to see Shansa leaning though the doorway and raised his brow. "Hm?"

Shansa motioned back into the hall. "Tul found them. He found footage of the batarians."

Will uncrossed his arms and glanced to the roof of the Kodiak where Eleena was still kneeling and watching them. Will nodded for her to come with them as Kallux stepped up to his side. Shansa disappeared back through the doorway and Will hurried into the hall to see her darting into the crew's quarters. He followed her through the door and stepped up to the dining table where Tul sat with his holopad. Will, Shansa, Kallux and Eleena all circled around Tul's chair and peered over him to see the screen.

Tul glanced over his shoulder. "Full house. Excellent," he noted dryly.

He tapped the screen and the still image that was currently displayed began moving. The vid showed the entrance hall where the two security guards stood with a human scientist between them. In front of them the door to the security checkpoint opened to reveal a group of four armored figures standing around a crate similar in size to the one that carried the artifact. Their armor was identical to that worn by the batarians who had confronted them on Tul's station. All wore helmets but one.

" _You made incredible time,"_  the scientist stated.

" _We always do."_

Will recognized the voice and looked to the neck of the batarian not wearing a helmet to see a black, striped tattoo. It was Narek.

" _I'm Doctor Tokagi. Are you Captain Hume?"_

Narek chuckled and shook his head.  _"No no, he's on the ship. I'm his first mate."_

The Doctor nodded.  _"Well, let's confirm the shipment and get it down to the research lab."_

The two security guards holstered their pistols and stepped toward the doorway that separated them and the batarians. Before they could take more than three steps, however, Narek and the soldier at his side whipped their pistols up and fired multiple shots into the guards' chests. They fell to the ground, motionless, in front of a screaming Doctor Tokagi. Shansa gasped and raised her hand to cover her mouth while the others remained silent. Will felt his jaw clench in anger at the killings but continued to watch as the batarians all drew their rifles and stepped into the entrance hall.

Screaming could be heard in the background as Narek motioned the others forward. "Sweep and clear. Round them all up."

The batarians marched out of frame and began a methodical search of each room. Tul switched to different camera feeds and they watched as over the next fifteen minutes the batarians swept the entire facility. They checked drawers and cabinets to no avail before checking each terminal to download and wipe any data on them. Narek stood in the entrance hall silently as the two dozen researchers and lab techs were rounded up and brought before him. Tul switched back to the feed of the entrance as the four batarians reconvened by their commander.

" _What do you think, sir?"_  One of the batarians asked to Narek.

Narek looked over the group.  _"Diverse group. We'll bring them to Logasiri and see what we can do with them."_

The lower ranking batarian nodded and turned to the hostages.  _"Everybody on your feet and follow me."_

The group stood, their hands on the back of their heads, and began walking after the batarian through the security checkpoint. The audio feed gave them the sound of sobs and frightened whimpers that Will wished he could unhear. One of the batarians standing guard raised a hand and the group came to a halt. He stepped up to Narek and motioned toward the victims.

" _Twenty four here, sir. We can only hold twenty at most."_

Narek nodded and pointed to the end of the line.  _"You four stay. Everyone else keep moving."_

The others continued on out through the security checkpoint. Tul switched to the landing pad camera to see them boarding two shuttles before returning to the entrance hall camera. The four remaining members of the research staff glanced to one another before an asari finally worked up the courage to speak.

" _You... you can't just leave us here."_

Narek nodded solemnly.  _"I know."_

Without another word he raised his rifle and unleashed a burst of gunfire into them. All four were hit multiple times and fell to the ground in a bloody heap. Shansa let out a short scream and turned away from the vid.

"Fuck." Eleena lamented as she exhaled in shock.

Narek slid his rifle onto his back and nodded to the remaining soldier by his side.  _"Cut the power."_

Narek stood patiently in the room with his six dead victims at his feet as the other batarian rounded the corner to the security room. After another few seconds the lights, along with the vid feed, cut to black. Will stepped back and raised his hand to his lip as the others turned and formed a semicircle facing him. He thought to himself quietly for a few seconds before realizing the others were waiting on him.

"Right... Captain," he reminded himself. "So what did we get from that?"

"That we're dealing with some cold bastards," Eleena replied.

"One of them mentioned Logasiri." Kallux stated. "They said they were taking the scientists there."

Will raised a brow. "Are you familiar with Logasiri?"

The krogan shook his head. "It's a planet in the Omega Nebula. That's all I know."

"Same here," Eleena added. "But I've heard of cargo ships heading to or from it so there's gotta be some kind of industry there."

"Well that's something." Will let out a sigh. "Tul, you said you had a month's worth of security footage, right?"

The quarian nodded. "That's correct."

"Think we could listen through the security footage to see if the researchers ever talked about the artifact?"

"Most likely not," Tul responded. "Unfortunately, the only security camera that recorded audio was the one in the entrance hall. And I don't think they would spend much time talking about the details of their research there."

Shansa cleared her throat and held up her omnitool. "Nav chart says Logasiri is in the Batalla System. That's only a day or so away."

Will nodded. "Alright... here's the plan. We head to Omega and drop off Kallux's shuttle for repairs. If it's gonna take a few days to get the Kodiak operational we leave and head to Logasiri. I don't want to stick around Omega for any longer than we have to."

Kallux nodded. "Agreed."

Will looked to the others. "Any objections?"

Shansa, Tul and Eleena shook their heads.

Will gave them a small smile. "Good. Let's get moving."

* * *

Narek winced as he applied a fresh layer of medi-gel to his blistered and burned skin. The left side of his face and neck had been nearly melted by the flamethrowers on the quarian's space station. He gritted his teeth in pain as the application ceased and he lowered the omnitool from his face. Narek felt like a fool. He had underestimated the capabilities of his enemy and he had paid the price dearly for it. In time the pain would lessen, but he did not expect it to happen soon. The soft green light on his vidcomm system that prompted the dose of medi-gel continued to blink in anticipation. He straightened himself in his chair and activated the device. The screen flickered as the image of a small, familiar office and stoic batarian appeared on the screen.

"Director Ag'aren. How may I be of service, sir?" Narek barely flinched as burning pain engulfed his skin as he spoke.

" _Commander. You look terrible."_

Narek drew a tight breath. "I underestimated them as Jall did."

" _So I see. And the artifact?"_

The commander averted his eyes briefly. "I don't have it."

Nox Ag'aren looked downward.  _"Commander Narek, I don't need to tell you how important it is that we recover this device."_

Narek nodded quickly in response. "Of course, sir, and I have a plan. One of our scouts in the Sahrabarik System scanned a ship jumping in from the Hourglass Nebula that matched the MSV Hyperion's silhouette."

" _And where are they now?"_

"We're unsure. But our scouts report that they have not returned to the relay yet. My ship will remain on standby at Omega and intercept them whenever they appear again." Narek swallowed nervously. He knew very well that his plan was tenuous at best.

" _That is... discouraging. But I don't see any other options."_  Ag'aren sat back in his chair.  _"Find that artifact, Narek. Sommesh cannot continue if you do not."_


	10. Chapter 10

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 10**

_**Tilno District, Omega** _

Will's eyes slowly scanned the long, crowded street as he and Eleena stood on alert. His left hand hung lazily at his side while the other rested firmly on the grip of his pistol. Standing beside him Eleena was shifting her eyes along the rooftops of the buildings that surrounded the bustling marketplace. Will had learned by now to expect their foes at any moment and Eleena had agreed with the precautions without hesitation. They were both dressed from neck to toe in their combat armor just in case trouble arose while Kallux was inside a nearby garage dealing with his Kodiak.

The marketplace was as full and busy as the one that Will had met Eleena in just a few weeks prior, but this time every sudden movement or loud noise sent his eyes darting toward the location of the abnormality. It was unnerving to think that had the batarians been just a little faster both he and Shansa could have been killed before even leaving the Hyperion's hangar. He shook off the thought and refocused on the crowd. The closest stall to them was manned by a rather loud turian shouting to every passerby that they looked terrible and should invest in one of his "luxury" garments that Will could plainly see were covered in blemishes. He tried his best to block out the voice. As Eleena finished her current sweep of the balconies and walkways above them she glanced over to Will and gave him a nudge.

"Hey, there's a really great bar nearby we should stop by sometime." Eleena's eyes shifted back upward.

Will's expression narrowed slightly in confusion, but he continued his diligent watch. "We? We meaning...?"

"You know. Us, Shansa, Tul, Kallux. Whoever wants to come."

"Oh, right," Will responded. "I guess I owe everyone a few rounds. Assuming we survive the next few days, of course."

Eleena smirked. "I figured that part was implicit."

Will chuckled and took his eyes off the crowd for a moment to give her a sideways glance. "I haven't really thanked you properly for sticking with us." He grinned slightly and looked back out into the mass of people. "I mean, I know you're just here for the eighteen percent and everything, but it's still nice knowing you've got someone to watch your back."

The asari laughed at the eighteen percent remark. "I was mostly joking about that. You guys are alright. I'd say you're better than my last crew but that was such a fucking mess I don't know how you couldn't be."

"You really know how to lay down the sweet talk, you know?" Will's grin lingered.

Eleena shook her head with a small smile. "Does that much flirtation normally work?"

"Almost never," he replied with a chuckle. "But I'm sure it will someday."

Her amused look slowly faded as she finished her sweep once again. "You really think they'd try something in a busy market like this?"

"If you'd asked me before we left Omega the first time I'd probably say no, but I have a feeling they're getting more desperate." Will shrugged. "I mean, I still have no idea why they want this damned thing so badly, but so far they've been pretty upfront about the measures they'll go to in order to get it."

"True enough," Eleena replied.

A few meters down from where they stood a door slid apart and Kallux stepped out into the street shaking his head in frustration. Will caught a glimpse of him in the corner of his eye and waved him over. The krogan marched to them and leaned up against the wall beside Will with his arms crossed.

"It'll be three to five days," Kallux began without a greeting. "No way to get it done quicker."

Will let out a sigh. "Fantastic. Looks like we're doing this without the shuttle. Let's get back to the ship and see what Tul and Shansa have dug up."

Eleena and Kallux nodded as Will stood up from the wall and walked toward the flowing crowd.

"What exactly are they looking for?" Eleena hurried up to Will's left side as she spoke with Kallux coming up to flank him on the right. "You got a plan?"

"I might." Will teased. "I've got Tul looking for records of settlements on Logasiri and Shansa digging up normal trade routes and routine shipments to the planet."

After pushing through the sea of shoppers Will turned and led the group down a side street that branched away from the market and towards an adjacent and less busy avenue. After walking only a few meters down the hall the leader of a small pack of rather grungy looking vorcha that were lounging at the side of the alley gave them a growl. Kallux clenched his fists and stared down the vorcha as they passed by with a reciprocating snarl. The vorcha quickly averted his eyes and hunched back down into his pack.

"And what exactly are we planning on doing with this information?" Kallux continued to hold is eye on the cluster of vorcha as he spoke.

"Well I did a little research yesterday and nearly every settlement on Logasiri is a palladium mine." Will turned and led the group onto the street that would take them to the Hyperion's berth. "If these guys have a base of operations there then I'd bet good credits that they receive shipments from far different suppliers than the mining facilities."

Eleena nodded and glanced to Will. "So if Shansa gets her hands on these shipping manifests we can narrow down our search to places that are stockpiling guns."

"Not just guns," Kallux interjected. "Anything that wouldn't normally belong in a harsh environment mining colony."

"Exactly," Will replied. "They're after an artifact, right? They could be getting shipments from a lab equipment manufacturer."

"Well damn, it's almost like we know what we're doing now," Eleena joked with a confident smirk.

Despite the jesting manner in which Eleena had delivered the comment it made Will feel infinitely better than he had at any point up until then. He glanced to Kallux who seemed to be content with the course of action before looking straight ahead and continuing the march onward. The fact that the krogan did not object was a good thing as well. Will smiled as he and his two companions approached the docking bay where the Hyperion could be seen through the large viewports resting idly. Will noted with satisfaction that the massive cargo loading armature that they had used to offload Kallux's shuttle had been retracted. They stopped at the security door as it scanned for the ID of the human, asari and krogan before the heavy door blinked green and parted to allow them access to the small hallway connecting the ship's airlock to the station.

"So you two actually think this will work?" Will gave a quick look to each side as he stopped and his omnitool transmitted the security code to open the Hyperion's outer hatch.

"Sure. Why the hell not?" Kallux replied with a grin.

"It's a better plan than just waiting for them to come to us," Eleena added as they stepped into the decontamination chamber.

The door behind them shut and Will engaged the boarding sequence. "Good. Now let's hope we have the information we need."

As the inner hatch opened Will, Eleena and Kallux stepped in and turned down the hall to the crew's quarters where Shansa and Tul sat at the dining table working diligently on their datapads. Eleena crossed the room to the kitchenette and pulled a mug from the cabinet to fill with water as Kallux crossed his arms and leaned against the bulkhead of the doorway to the hall. Will stepped up behind Shansa and looked down to her tablet and then over to Tul's.

"What've we got?"

Tul'Sorrin leaned back in his seat. "I've got a list of all the known mining operations on Logasiri."

Will nodded. "Good." He glanced to Shansa and raised a brow. "Shansa?"

She let out a sigh looked up from her tablet. "The shipping records are pretty tight for a backwater mining planet." Her lips curled into a smile. "And the turian in charge the planet's traffic reports were quite happy to hand them over for only a few thousand credits. I've got data on tons of incoming and outgoing cargo vessels."

Eleena stepped up behind Shansa and took a sip from her glass. "Nice work. So how do we narrow things down?"

"Unfortunately none of Shansa's data indicates any facilities receiving unusual supplies," Tul stated. "However, there are five or six settlements that do not disclose the contents of their incoming shipments."

"So we have to check all six?" Will looked down to Tul and tried to hide his reluctance.

Tul shook his head. "Actually, that won't be necessary. While looking over the data I decided to take a look at export records. Almost every facility has extensive records of their palladium exports. Every facility but one."

Kallux chuckled and shook his head from the doorway. "And I always thought salarians were the clever ones."

"Sneaky? Maybe. Clever? Not compared to a quarian." Tul reached forward and slid his holopad over to his side where Will stood and tapped the screen. "Those are the coordinates. That's where we'll find them."

Will's eyes shifted from the screen of the holopad to Tul and then to Shansa. "You sure?"

Shansa gave Tul a glance to which the quarian nodded confidently. She leaned back in her chair and looked up to Will. "Positive."

Will could feel the energy in the room as he looked around to his comrades. It was obvious that they all felt it too. For the first time they had a target and were ready to take matters into their own hands. He looked to Shansa and smiled.

"Well helmsman, let's set a course for Logasiri."

* * *

The bridge of the Sha'Nash was dim and deathly quiet as Narek paced back and forth slowly before his command console. The bridge of his batarian designed corvette was centered around the raised platform that he stood upon to perform his duties as commander of the vessel. His watchful eyes drifted around the room to see the four other members of the bridge crew all seated at their posts in front of and beside him working in silence. The ship was currently lingering at the edge of Omega's asteroid belt while they waited for their scout's report. Narek's contacts in Omega control had already made him well aware of the fact that the Hyperion had not only docked, but had also already left and was making its way out of the asteroid field. His ship was fast enough to intercept the Hyperion long before they reached the mass relay and he was still thinking rationally enough not to risk an assault on the cargo ship while it was still near the station.

"Sir, incoming feed from one of the scouts," his comm officer reported.

Narek glanced down to his control panel and tapped a glowing green button. "This is Commander Narek. Go ahead."

" _The ship has exited the asteroid belt and has set a course. It looks like they're preparing to enter FTL."_

Narek took in a deep, slow breath and nodded to himself. "Transmit the flight path."

After a few second the navigation display blinked to life and grew into a plane showing the course that the Hyperion was currently traveling. Narek narrowed his eyes and looked over the display before shaking his head. They weren't headed for the mass relay.

"Where are you headed," he muttered under his breath.

Narek expanded the navigation report to see that the projected path of the ship would be taking the Hyperion out of the Sahrabarik System and toward Batalla.

"Logasiri..." His lips curled into a wicked grin.

The navigation officer turned to look up toward Narek. "Sir, shall I plot an interception?"

Narek closed the nav display and shook his head. "No. Get us on a parallel flight path and take us Logasiri." He stepped down from the command platform and walked into the hallway leading to his quarters. "This time they've bitten off more than they can chew."

* * *

Will sat on the edge of his bunk with his pistol in hand and the barrel pointed toward the floor. He raised the weapon and closed one eye with the other focused down the sights. Satisfied with the alignment he lowered the weapon and opened the small slider on the side to access the heat-sink. Will stared into the small cavity on the side of his Carnifex and let out a deep breath; he hadn't felt this mentally exhausted in years. Will closed his eyes and shook his head slowly in an attempt to build just a tiniest bit of energy. His eyes opened and refocused as he reached into the gun and popped the heat-sink out and into his fingers.

"Looks like we had the same idea."

He glanced up to see Tul walking through the door. "Just want to be on the safe side."

"Think we'll find them on Logasiri?" Tul pulled his pistol from his belt as he approached the table attached to the wall across the room.

Will shrugged as his eyes dropped from the quarian back down to his hands. "I hope we do."

"Good. Because I believe we will." Tul lowered himself into a chair and placed his pistol on the table. "You seemed rather put off by the recent series of events when we met. Something change?"

Will rotated the heat-sink in his fingers before sliding it back into place in his pistol. "Yeah. I think we might actually have a shot at getting some answers."

The quarian spun the pistol on its side so that it was facing him properly before disassembling the weapon into its major components with surprising efficiency. He picked up the first of the separated pieces and inspected it closely.

"I think we all want answers. Which questions are you hoping to find them for?"

Will closed up the small hatch on his Carnifex and stood up as he slid it into the holster on his belt. "What that orb in the cargo bay is, why they want it so badly and whether or not there's a way for us to settle things without more people getting killed."

Tul nodded as he listened and moved on to the second component of his pistol. "Good questions. I would have said the same thing."

The human looked to Tul'Sorrin as he meticulously handled and examined the disassembled M-3 on the table. Will crossed the room and sat in the chair opposite from him while Tul continued his maintenance.

"Mind if I ask you a question, Tul?" Will's eyes were focused on the quarian's dexterous fingers as he worked.

Tul remained silent for a moment until he had finished with his current inspection. "Ask away," he replied as he moved on to the next piece.

Will swallowed hard and drew a slight breath as he search for the proper words. "You've lived on ships for most of your life, right?"

The quarian glanced up and shrugged in consideration. "Yes. I'm not sure how much you know about quarians, but I hope that wasn't your only question."

Will chuckled lightly. "You've probably known your fair share of captains then."

Tul nodded and looked back down to the final piece of his weapon. "I've served under a few commands, yes."

"Am I doing this right?" Will asked bluntly. "Because I've gotta be honest... up until two weeks ago my leadership skills had rarely seen the light of day."

"If that's true," Tul started, "then you're a fairly natural leader."

"Am I?" Will narrowed his eyes slightly. "I still don't feel like I've done much."

The quarian nodded in satisfaction with the inspection of his pistol's components and began reassembling the weapon as he replied. "I haven't known you for very long. Keelah, if we had met under different circumstances I'd barely be able to call you an acquaintence. But so far you've been a solid leader. You seem to have a plan in mind at all times, which is good, and you're respectful to those who are following your lead."

Will smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, but you've got a pretty limited history to judge me on."

Tul slid the last piece into place. "I have a feeling we'll know for certain once we find the ones who can answer your questions. And don't be too concerned... you've only got all of our lives in your hands."

"No pressure," Will muttered. "I think I'm going to grab some sleep."

Tul stood from his seat and holstered his pistol. "Good idea. We've probably got another six hours before we enter the Batalla System."

Will looked up to the quarian and smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Tul."

"Anytime, Captain."


	11. Chapter 11

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 11**

_**MSV Hyperion, Batalla System, in orbit over Logasiri** _

" _Orbit established and auto-pilot locked in."_

Will was busy tapping away at his omnitool as Shansa's voice came over the ship's intercom. Without pause he activated his comm link to the cockpit and cleared his throat.

"Meet us in the cargo bay. We're gonna have a mission briefing in just a minute."

Tul'Sorrin chuckled from the doorway as he leaned on the bulkhead. "A mission briefing, huh? I wasn't aware this was a military vessel."

Will closed his comm and reached for the rifle that hung inside his locker. "Starting now we are."

"Wow," Eleena teased as she finished up her pre-mission preperations. "Captain Hume taking it up a notch."

He had spent the past hour checking over every inch of his weapon and armor as well as double checking the diagnostic readouts that his omnitool had given him. Will gripped his hands on the Vindicator firmly before collapsing the rifle and reaching over his back to lock it into the weapon holster. The only thing left in his equipment locker now was a dark red helmet with a freshly polished and spotless visor. His gloved hand wrapped around the headpiece and pulled it to his waist as he turned around.

"I owe everyone too much not take this seriously," Will stated defensively.

Eleena closed her locker and slid her SMG into the holster on the small of her back. "Good," she replied as she turned around. "I didn't take this job to die from an incompetent captain."

Will smiled to Eleena as she gave him a reassuring nod before he motioned for the group to follow him into the hall. From the door into the cargo bay Will could see Shansa standing with her arms crossed and head cocked to the side as she stared at the out of sight weapon bench and, presumably, Kallux. Will stepped through the door and stood beside Shansa as he looked over to see the krogan locking the barrel of his cannon into place with a grunt. Kallux turned around as the clunking sound of boots rang out from the metal floor of the cargo bay and nodded to Will. He glanced over to Eleena and Tul as they stood at the side of Shansa and Kallux to form a small circle. Will took a calming breath as he saw the eyes of the others fall upon him.

"I guess I don't need to tell you all why we're here," Will opened to the chuckles and grins of his shipmates. "But we do have a lot to cover before this little party gets into gear. Shansa, I assume you've got the coordinates for the facility punched in?"

The redhead smiled in reply. "Yes. I did a rough topographical scan when we got in range and I've selected a few safe landing zones."

Will nodded and crossed his arms. "Great. Got a favorite?"

Shansa's eyes rolled to the ceiling as she considered the question. "I think so. It's beyond a small ridge which should keep us out of sight and I think it'll also allow me to sneak in below the range of any basic scanners. Only problem is it'll probably take a half hour or so to hike from the ship to the base."

"It's a low-G planet," Tul quickly noted. "The hike won't be too exhausting."

"Alright, sounds like we have a jumping off point," Will stated. "Shansa, as soon as we've hit the ground I want the ship running dark."

She raised a brow. "How dark?"

"Everything that can be picked up on short-range sensors I want dead. If this place has any military-grade equipment they'll start searching the moment they realize we're there. In fact, just cut everything on the ship off but the emergency lights and the cockpit computers." The confidence in Will's voice, despite being mostly feigned, sounded genuine.

Shansa frowned and looked to the others. "If I shut down everything and they find me... they can disable the ship before I even get the thrusters warmed up."

Will bit his lip slightly and nodded. "I know, but I promise you they won't find the ship. We're taking them by surprise and they'll have no idea who is attacking them. They're gonna want to protect themselves, not go looking for the people who dropped us off."

She gave a small nod. "Alright. If you're sure."

"I am," Will reassured her before looking to the other three. "Now as far as the infiltration goes I want them to be unaware of our presence for as long as possible."

Kallux chuckled. "Don't think we make it in and out without waking up some guards?"

"For various reasons ranging from the size of your gun to the volume of Eleena's mouth... no," Will jabbed.

Eleena rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Fuck off."

Will gave her a wink and grinned. "As I was saying... we're gonna stay undetected for as long as possible. The first thing we're going to do is try to find a way into the facility. If this place is big then they'll probably have a series of maintenance shafts or something that we can use to move around out of sight. Once we're inside I wanna find a local terminal as fast as possible. Tul, think you'll be able to get into their network?"

"Of course," Tul replied with unwavering aplomb.

"Good. Get us any information you can find. Facility blueprints, comm traffic, work logs, anything."

"Captain, please." Tul crossed his arms with a chuckle. "You act like this is my first infiltration job."

"Uhh..." Will tried not let his curiosity get he best of him and shrugged. "Right. Sorry about that."

"So what exactly is the plan after we get inside and Masked Hacker does his thing?" Eleena looked down to her helmet as she spoke and wiped a smudge from the side.

Will paused and thought for a moment. "We start searching for answers. A control room or laboratory is priority number one."

Kallux nodded in agreement. "And the rules of engagement?"

"If we have to take anyone out I'd like to do it quietly or even non-lethally. Beyond that... I guess it's kill or be killed." Will clenched and released his fists nervously as he answered.

The others nodded silently. Will looked around the small circle made up of his crew and smiled lightly. Despite the unknown odds they were going into he was confident in their capabilities. For the first time in years he felt that he had a group of people watching his back that he could rely on.

"Shansa," Will began as his gaze fell on her. "Would you be so kind as to jump in the cockpit and get this mission underway?"

She gave a nervous smile in return and nodded. "You got it."

Shansa looked around the circle causing her smile to grow slightly before she turned and darted through the door and into the forward hall. Kallux turned back to the workbench and hauled his cannon off and onto his back. As he came back around to face the others he stepped up beside Eleena and Tul who had already lined up in front of Will at a casual attention.

"Everyone ready for this?" Will asked as he fiddled with his helmet.

"You bet your ass I am," Kallux answered. "And by the way, if we find Ag'aren I'd appreciate it if we managed to take him alive. Higher bounty and all."

Will laughed. "I don't expect him to answer my questions while he's dead so that request goes for everyone. Anything else to add?"

"If I may." Tul raised a finger as he began to speak. "Logasiri is low on gravity and atmosphere so watch your shield levels. Even a minor armor rupture could be catastrophic here."

"Agreed," Will replied. " Now if there's no other business to attend to... we have some work to do."

Will smiled as he lifted his helmet and locked it into place with a small, soothing click and hiss as his suit's atmo-system kicked in. Eleena did the same as Kallux turned and crouched under the table behind him. After rummaging around for a moment he stood back up with his awkwardly shaped, krogan-fitted helmet and slid it over his head. Will waited until everyone was sufficiently prepared and motioned for them to follow as he walked back to the door and into the forward hall. He tapped the control panel beside the airlock door and stepped aside as the others filed into the decontamination chamber. Tul raised his omnitool and made a few quick adjustments before lowering his arm.

"I took the liberty of setting up an encryption for the comm channel," the quarian informed them through their headsets.

"Good thinking," Will commended as he tapped another button to keep the outer airlock door open. "I'm gonna go make one last check in the cockpit."

Eleena gave him a nod as he turned back to the hall and hurried to the open cockpit door. As he ducked in he could see that the ship had already begun its rapid descent to the planet's surface at Shansa's command. The rolling hills and mountains were an eerie mixture of black, blue and purple dirt and rocks that, despite the intensity of the setting sun, almost seemed to absorb the light that touched them. He placed his hand on the back of Shansa's seat and watched closely as she brought the ship down to below the altitude of most of the peaks that they soared past. The ship had noticeably decelerated as they grew closer to the ground and Shansa had quickly found a valley that the ship could coast through without much trouble.

"Are we close?" Will continued to stare through the forward viewport.

"Just another minute or so," she replied calmly, clearly deep in concentration.

His hand moved from the back of her chair and grasped her shoulder gently. Shansa continued to maintain complete focus on safely navigating through the hills and mountains for a moment before one of her hands pulled back from the controls and found his. Despite only being able to feel her fingers in his palm she gave his gloved hand a tight squeeze then quickly placed her hand back on the flight controls.

"Please be careful," she said softly.

Will closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as he gave her shoulder a gentle pat and pulled his hand back. "I'll be fine. You'll see me in a few hours."

"I'd better," she called as he turned and ducked back through the door and into the hall.

Will stepped into the airlock and tapped the panel on the wall to close the door behind him. Kallux, Eleena and Tul'Sorrin all stood silently in anticipation. Will reached down to his omnitool and with a single command activated his shield generator which prompted the others to do the same.

" _We're hitting the ground in fifteen seconds. Landing zone looks clear,"_ Shansa announced through their headsets.

"I'll activate the waypoint for the facility's coordinates," Tul stated as he pulled up his omnitool.

A few seconds later an objective waypoint blinked up on their HUDs briefly before minimizing and popping up as just a decreasing number on the edge of their vision. The Hyperion rumbled fiercely as the forward thrusters blazed to slow the ship's forward momentum. The ship jerked to a halt as the landing gears struck the surface of the planet causing the squad to brace themselves slightly to stop from falling onto one another. After a few seconds the Hyperion's artificial gravity deactivated and Will closed his eyes to calm his nerves as the unsettling feeling of losing half of one's weight washed over them. He opened his eyes and tapped the control panel to open the outer airlock door.

Will looked out as the door slid apart to reveal a hellish landscape of the black and blue hillside littered with rocks ranging in size from his fist to the Hyperion itself. He soil looked like nothing more than lifeless dirt and the complete absence of plant life seemed to indicate the same. The sun was setting behind the stern of the ship which cast long, almost indiscernible shadows across the dark hill and the waypoint to the facility was directly in front of them on the other side. As Will dropped down onto the surface of the planet he looked down to the soil and gave it a small kick.

"How's the surface?" Eleena asked as she and the others stood in the door behind him.

"It's... thin. Almost like ash," Will replied as he stepped to the side.

Kallux jumped down and nodded. "Not thin enough to cloud just from walking."

Eleena and Tul leapt to the surface and the asari reached up to close the airlock behind them.

Will raised his comm to Shansa. "We're out."

" _Understood. Going dark."_

Will reached over his back to retrieve his M-15 and looked back to his squad. "Looks like we have a hill to climb."

Without another word the group started off up the rocky hillside with Will leading the march. Eleena and Kallux flanked him on either side while Tul took up position directly behind him.

"Walking up a miserable mountainside in the desert really brings back the memories," Kallux stated after a few minutes of silent climbing.

Eleena glanced over to him. "Done this once or twice?"

The krogan let out a small laugh. "I grew up on Tuchanka. When I was a whelp we did this kinda thing for fun."

"Sounds like a hell of a childhood," Will commented.

"It was alright. Sometimes brutal, sometimes exhilarating." Kallux shrugged. "But it was the only childhood I had so it's not like I have something to compare it to."

"Sounds more intense than my childhood," Will said with a laugh. "I spent half of it in school and the rest working the colony's fishing equipment."

"Oh yeah, I think Shansa mentioned that you two were colonists." Eleena paused and narrowed her eyes for a moment thinking she might have seen something in the rocks above them. She chalked it up to shadows and continued on.

"Yep. Ever heard of Arvuna?" Will waited and smirked to himself as no one replied. "Didn't think so. It was part of humanity's first big wave of colonization after entering the galactic community. The little village Shansa and I lived in was one of the moon's biggest fish exporters."

"What caused you to leave?" Tul inquired.

Will's smirk slowly faded as he guided the group around a large boulder. "It's a long story. What about you, Eleena?"

The asari made a mental note of Will's quick deflection of the subject. "Me? I grew up on Cyone."

Will glanced back briefly. "Never heard of it."

"Not surprising. It's pretty important to asari but not to anyone else."

"So is it where the asari train all their dancers?" Kallux grinned.

Will let out a laugh and shook his head. "No no, she said it  _wasn't_  important to non-asari."

Eleena gave Will a shove and shot a glare at Kallux. "Actually,  _jackasses_ , it's one of our biggest fuel depots."

Will stumbled slightly from the push as he continued to chuckle. "Sorry, sorry." He grinned as he recomposed himself. "But, uh, yeah. Cyone. What was that like?"

Eleena rolled her eyes. "It was fine. My mother worked on one of the orbital platforms as an engineer so I didn't get to see her that much."

"Is that where you picked up your mechanical skills?" Tul asked, having stepped up with the rest of the group.

"Nope. My father was a turian who worked as a starship mechanic on the surface. I spent most of my time with him because my mother was barely around." Eleena smiled softly under her helmet.

"A turian starship mechanic on an asari world? How the hell did he end up there?" Will chuckled as he asked.

"My parents met while serving on a ship together and decided to settle down in a place that would always have work for them. I'm sure having alien residents on a human world is rare, but give it a few decades and you'll see plenty of them on places like Arvuna," Eleena replied.

"Hm." Will looked back to the quarian and nodded. "How about you, Tul? What was it like growing up on the Migrant Fleet?"

"Terrible. There's a reason why I never returned from my Pilgrimage," Tul stated flatly.

Kallux eyed him curiously. "Couldn't have been that bad. I grew up on a radioactive rock."

"I was born on a small ship barely twice the size of yours, the Hyperion, but lived among nearly a hundred people because our captain was too proud to admit that our ship was overpopulated. Everything we did on that ship was for the greater good of the people and never for personal gain. It wasn't until I embarked upon my Pilgrimage that I even realized that one could act for his or herself." Tul's voice was monotone and flat as he spoke. "I was the best computer engineer on the ship and it was easy for me to find work. The first time I was paid it was hard to grasp that, because I was no longer on the Fleet, the money  _mine_. We don't even have currency on the Flotilla."

Will looked over his shoulder. "Is that why you haven't gone back? Greed?"

"Absolutely not!" Tul retorted indignantly. "Unless it's "greedy" to want to live my life as an individual and not just a piece of a seventeen million part machine."

"Hey, I'm not judging you," Will quickly responded. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

Tul glanced to Eleena and Kallux who continued to remain silent. "I apologize. I didn't mean to yell. It's just a... sensitive subject."

Eleena glanced over as Tul trailed off. "Don't worry about it. I think the fact you're not ready to bill us for destroying your station is proof enough that you're not driven by greed."

Tul shook his head slowly. "No, the Captain was right. It is greedy of me not to return to the Fleet. But after seeing the galaxy outside of those ships... it's beautiful. I'm not going back."

"I'm sure as hell not gonna try to convince you to," Kallux assured him. "I have problems with my people's culture as well."

Silence fell over the group as they began to circle around another large boulder. Will stopped suddenly and held up his hand as the others came to rest behind him. They had reached the peak of the hill and below them in a small valley was a large facility that bore little resemblance to most mining depots. He crouched down and motioned for the others to move up to his side.

"That doesn't look like any mining operation I've been to," Eleena noted as she crouched beside Will.

"Agreed," he stated.

The gray buildings of the facility were centered around one massive structure that, given its size, Will assumed extended deep underground. The few smaller units surrounding it were big enough to be barracks or a maintenance facility, but none of them rose more than a dozen feet or so off of the ground. Located on the far side of the center building was an enormous landing pad with a pair of Mantis gunships and enough additional room for two ships the size of the Hyperion to dock. Will raised his rifle and activated the scope's zoom optics to give himself a more detailed view.

"I don't see any guards on the surface," he reported to the others.

"They're pretty well hidden," Kallux reasoned. "I doubt they have much to worry about in terms of hostile native life."

"Probably right," Will agreed as he squinted to focus. "Looks like they have some security cameras."

Tul cleared his throat. "I can broadcast some interference on any of the cameras that might spot us."

Will lowered his rifle and looked over to the others. "Good. We're gonna stay behind cover as much as possible going downhill, understood?"

Kallux, Eleena and Tul all gave him a curt nod of acknowledgment.

"Alright." Will flipped off the safety on his rifle. "Let's move."


	12. Chapter 12

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 12**

_**Bashnir Wastes, Logasiri** _

Will tried his best to regulate his breathing and pounding heart as he pushed his back up against the side of the building closest to the foot of the hill. He held his rifle tight against his chest as one by one Kallux, Eleena and Tul all mirrored his position in a line at his side. He closed his eyes briefly and drew in a deep breath as he slowly began side stepping toward the edge of the structure. Will opened his eyes as he reached the corner and slowly peered from the shadow they stood in to the massive building at the center of the complex. As he pulled back and leaned against the wall he gave a look to the trio to his side and nodded.

"I see a door. It looks kind of small." Will's breathing had calmed, thankfully. "Definitely not the main entrance."

"How far away is it?" Kallux held his sidearm in his hand with his cannon still slung on his back.

"Twenty meters or so from here. All open ground," Will stated regrettably. "Good news is I didn't see any guards or cameras."

"Excellent," Tul chimed in. "Hopefully the door's electronic lock isn't terribly sophisticated."

"How about we stop hoping and find out?" Eleena inquired.

Will nodded and poked his head around the corner a second time to settle his nerves and, upon seeing nothing he hadn't the first time, glanced back to the squad. "Everyone on me."

He whipped his rifle up and held the stock firmly against his shoulder as he spun around the edge of the building and began running toward the small door. He pointed his M-15 straight ahead while his eyes darted in all directions looking for the thing that would throw a wrench in their plans. To his surprise he reached the door without interruption and positioned himself to the side so he could continue scanning the surroundings. Eleena arrived second and mirrored his position on the opposite side of the door as Tul stepped up and wasted no time before activating his omnitool and beginning his hack on the door. Kallux stopped a few feet behind the quarian and turned around to stand guard.

"How's it look, Tul?" Will gave him a quick glance.

Before the quarian could answer the small security panel on the center of the door buzzed and changed from a glowing orange to green.

"I'm not being paid by the hour, right?" Tul stepped back and crossed his arms with a chuckle.

"I'll talk to management about a bonus." Will grinned and turned to face the door. "Eleena, give me a gun on whatever's behind this door."

The asari nodded and faced the door with her SMG at the ready. "Do it."

Will held his rifle's grip in his right hand as his left reached for the door and pressed the glowing button in the center to open it. With a soft ping the holographic panel spun as the door opened to reveal a small, silver room that looked like an airlock. At the far side of the room was a second door, just like the first, with another security panel. Eleena held her shot for a few seconds before lowering her SMG and laughing.

Will smirked and looked over to Tul. "Mind working your magic again?"

The quarian let out a joking sigh and sauntered into the room. "If I must."

Will looked to Eleena and motioned her in before tapping Kallux on the shoulder and signaling for him to do the same. After the others had entered Will made one last quick visual sweep then stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Tul hummed softly to himself as he worked on the door at a lightning fast pace. The quarian required even less time for the hack the second time around and after a few seconds the door gave the same buzz. Will moved up with Eleena at his side and raised his rifle once again as he reached for the panel at the center of the door.

The green light at the center of the door blinked and spun to signify that it was unlocking before the two halves of the door slid apart and sent the dim light of the airlock flooding into a unlit hallway. Will immediately activated his flashlight and guided the beam of illumination down the hall to see it end at a T-intersection about ten meters ahead. The cramped tunnel was almost certainly some sort of maintenance shaft or emergency exit that was only wide enough to accommodate a single file line by the squad. Will looked over his shoulder to see the others all slightly hunched and waiting for his command.

"Looks like we're going one at a time." Will stated as he looked back down the passageway. "I want Eleena behind me, then Tul and then Kallux."

Tul'Sorrin stretched his back slightly and gripped the pistol in his hand. "On you, Captain."

Will's fingers tapped at the grip of his Vindicator as he took the first step into he hall without hesitation. To either side of him on the floor were small light strips at periodic intervals that he guessed were turned on from somewhere else inside the facility. He hunched forward slightly to keep a gap between his helmet and the ceiling as he moved to the fork a few meters ahead. Behind him the three others had entered the tunnel and were following close behind their captain.

Kallux let out a grumble. "This place clearly wasn't designed with krogan in mind..."

"Feelin' a little cramped back there?" Eleena teased.

A soft clunk rang out from behind them as one of the numerous heavy pieces of equipment on Kallux collided with the tight walls of the hall.

"Just a little," he replied in an unamused tone.

Will did his best to keep the conversation in the background and focus his attention on leading the group. He came to a stop a few feet from the fork and looked toward either direction before turning and heading down the left passageway. The rest of the squad followed without a word and Will quickly found that they had entered a slightly curved hallway that seemed to follow the same curvature as the building itself. After about a minute of moving down the hall at a moderate pace Will saw a door slowly emerging from beyond the curve of the passage. He pointed the focus of his flashlight on the door and as they grew closer he could see a small picture above the control panel showing a figure inside a box with up and down arrows on either side.

"Looks like we've got an elevator," he announced.

Will reached for the panel and was surprised that with only a tap of his finger the door blinked green in affirmation and pulsated to show it was working. Within a few seconds the door slid apart and Will jerked his rifle up to face the newly arrived elevator car. It was small and dimly light, much like the airlock, but looked like it would fit all of them. As he entered the elevator he spotted the control panel and read down the list of available destinations.

"Surface, Personnel Quarters, Security, Control, Lab1, Lab2, Storage and Maintenance..." Will glanced to the others as they funneled into the cramped space.

"Storage sounds like our best bet," Kallux stated as he bumped his head on the doorway.

Tul nodded. "I agree. I doubt they concentrate their security at the lowest level of the facility."

Will closed the elevator door and tapped the command ordering the car to descend. "Let's hope you're right."

The elevator gave a small jerk as it began zooming down into the depths of the complex only to stop after just a few seconds. The button that read "Storage" on the control panel illuminated and without warning the door swung open to an enormous room filled from floor to ceiling with rows of shelving. Objects of every shape and size covered virtually the entire available space on the shelves while dimly glowing white lights from the ceiling cast their oddly shaped shadows across one another. Will barely had time to take a quick glance around before seeing a figure at the center of the row just a few meters from where the elevator had opened up at. He was batarian dressed in a jumpsuit or some kind of work fatigues standing beside a hovering pushcart laden with parts of machinery.

The batarian seemed not to take notice of the open elevator as he stared down at a holopad. "Need something for a repair?" His voice echoed though the room eerily.

Before they could respond the batarian looked up from his work and made a slight jump back, tossing his datapad aside. He reached to his belt and whipped up a pistol in one fluid motion before taking aim directly at Will. A series of gunshots rang out as Will stood frozen with his rifle still pointed toward the ground. While Will's shields flared slightly the batarian's chest exploded as shots impacted his unshielded an unarmored flesh. Within a second he had collapsed into a heap on the floor and Will jerked his head to the side to see Eleena standing to his right with her SMG pointed at the fallen batarian.

"Fuck," Will let out as he turned his head forward and hurried out of the elevator. "Thanks."

Eleena, Tul and Kallux all filed out in formation with their weapons raised.

"I'd better be getting a bonus that  _at least_  matches Tul's," Eleena commented with a grin as she stepped up beside Will.

He let out a small, shocked laugh as he walked up to the corpse of the batarian and looked him over. "He just looks like a warehouse worker."

"An  _armed_  warehouse worker," Tul reminded him. "Hopefully he didn't have any coworkers down here."

"If he did it's too late to keep them from hearing us." Kallux holstered his pistol and reached over his shoulder to retrieve his cannon.

Will nodded. "Let's see if we can find a security terminal or something. And keep your eyes open for cameras."

He raised his rifle as he started off down the aisle with his eyes darting in a new direction every second. Will quickly realized that, like the curvature of the building at the surface, the storage facility was also cylindrical. The ceiling was high, around ten meters or so, though the shelves around them were only three or four meters tall. Will slowed down as they approached a perpendicular walkway that looked as though it ran directly down the center of the storage room. He took a few steps toward the shelf behind him and leaned his head out to look up and down the wide aisle theirs had intersected with. Behind him the rest of the squad had pressed themselves flush against cover as well with the exception of Kallux, who stood as close as he could while holding his cannon at his side and in firing position.

"Looks clear," Will reported as he looked down either direction. "Looks like a freight elevator to the right and an office to the left."

"That office might be my ticket into their network," Tul stated.

Will nodded and stepped out from cover. "Let's go."

The four quickly ran into the aisle and toward the small office a few dozen meters away with their weapons drawn and ready to fire. Will looked through the windows to see a few terminals on desks lining the walls as he stopped at the door and pressed his finger to the controls. As the door slid apart Tul'Sorrin darted in with Will and made his way to the nearest computer. He pulled up the office chair nearest the desk and sat himself as he activated the monitor and began his work.

"Kallux, Eleena, keep an eye on the door." Will motioned to the still open door as they followed him in.

"I've got schematics of the building," Tul announced.

Will turned back to the quarian and placed a hand on his chair as he looked to the monitor. "Damn, that was fast."

Tul shrugged. "Not because of me, sadly. This is the maintenance office; it was right on the start-up menu. I'll upload it to our omnitools."

Will raised his wrist and pulled up his omnitool as the map was sent. He opened up the layer by layer dissection of the building and rotated it to put the small security room where they stood closest to him in an attempt to establish a sense of direction. He grumbled slightly after his brief initial overview and let out a sigh.

"Well the good news is that maintenance elevator stops on every level. The bad news is it just leads to more shafts like the one we started out in. The only floor that it actually allows access to is the one we're on now: Storage and Maintenance." Will rotated the map slowly and began investigating the other elevator shafts.

"Sounds like we need another way up," Kallux replied.

The closest elevator Will could find on the map was just through the massive double-wide door at the opposite end of the warehouse-sized room. "Looks like I was right about that double-wide door being a freight elevator."

"Freight elevator, huh?" Eleena glanced over to Will. "I have a feeling they might notice if we use that one."

"My worries exactly," Will lamented as he shook his head. "But it's the only one that connects to this level other than the one we came in on."

"I told you we wouldn't be able to sneak around forever," Kallux added as he readjusted the grip on his weapon.

"You're right. And unless we can find everything we need on this terminal we're going to have to use that thing." Will closed his omnitool and turned back to where Tul worked. "What's the situation?"

The quarian tapped his foot quickly as he typed with one hand and monitored a series of numbers and characters on his omnitool with the other. "It's good and bad. I have access to the security systems for 'maintenance purposes' which means if you say the word I can shut down their cameras and communications. Unfortunately, I only have limited access to another network that runs on the lab and control levels. I have a feeling all the worthwhile data is there."

Will stared blankly as he thought. "Alright. Is is possible for you to yank the security even if you're not here in front of the terminal?"

Tul made a few adjustments on his omnitool and nodded. "Now it is."

"Good. We're gonna head up to the first lab floor and find a terminal there," Will announced as he turned from the computer and walked over to the door where Kallux and Eleena were standing guard. "We'll keep the security blackout in our back pocket until the last possible second."

Eleena looked over her shoulder to Tul. "Hey, does that terminal have any other maintenance functions?"

Tul'Sorrin pulled up another window on the monitor and sat back with. "Eleena, you're a genius," he stated with a verbal smile.

Kallux narrowed his eyes. "How so?"

The quarian made a few more quick commands and raised his omnitool once again. "I was so interested in the network I forgot about local functions. Functions such as... shutting off lights or elevators due to an emergency."

Will tightened his grip on the M-15 in his hands and gave Eleena a sideways grin. "That bonus is just getting bigger and bigger."

The asari rolled her eyes with a smirk. "I'm going to assume that's literal and not a euphemism for something."

Tul drew his pistol and stepped up behind the others as Will adjusted his sights and took the first step back into the storage facility. The squad's pace immediately quickened to a trot as Will led the three others down the large center aisle to the double-wide door a few meters ahead. He slowed as they approached the door and activated his omnitool to look over the map again. The level marked as "Lab-2" appeared to be roughly half the size of the current level and was subdivided into numerous smaller rooms. The map showed that another shaft connected with the lab on the opposite side of where the freight elevator would deliver them. He shut off his omnitool and pressed the button to call the car to them. After a short wait the wide doors parted and the squad hurried inside.

"Looks like we can't get to the control level with this elevator," Will stated as he looked over the control panel. "But the map shows a smaller one that can get us there if needed."

Will ordered the car to ascend to the level marked "Lab-2" and stood back as he readied his weapon. The elevator came to stop after only a few seconds of travel with the entire squad pointing their weapons at the door. As it slid apart they scanned the wide hallway only to find nothing at all to speak of other than a series of doors on either side that stretched on until the hall intersected with another a few dozen meters ahead. Will quickly moved forward into the hallway and led the group past the first pair of doors labeled "Procedure Room 7" and "8" to their left and right. At the center of the intersection with the perpendicular hallway was a sign with arrows pointing to either direction glowing softly with a white back-light.

"Subject Holding or Live Test Lab..." Eleena muttered. "I don't like the sound of either of those."

"Same," Will agreed as he slowed to halt. "Let's try the holding center first. If we find any prisoners maybe they can help us out."

"And we can help  _them_  out," Kallux added.

"That too." Will turned to the left and waved for them to follow.

Unlike the first, the new hall was lined with doors every five meters or so with a large window beside each one. Will glanced into each one as they passed by in hopes of finding one of the cells occupied only to be met every time with the same emptiness. He anticipated the same results as they reached the second to last set of doors only to jerk to a stop as he spotted the shape of a humanoid figure laying on its side on the slab that extended out from the cell wall to act as a bed. The rest of the squad spotted the prisoner as well and rushed to the window in an attempt to identify them.

"Tul, help me get the door open," Will ordered. "Kallux, Eleena, go check the last three cells."

The krogan and asari nodded and hurried off as the quarian pulled up his omnitool and went to work on the simple locking program on the door. Will held his rifle in firing position as Tul made quick work of the security and tapped the command to open the door. As the cell door slid apart Will's flashlight illuminated the dimly lit chamber and caused the prisoner to stir from her slumber. The human sat up and turned to them without much surprise and averted her eyes from the intense light.

"I guess it's my time then?" The woman spoke with exhaustion.

Will glanced to Tul for a moment and then back to the prisoner. "What? What do you mean, 'your time?'"

She paused briefly before raising a hand over her eyes to shield them from the glare of his flashlight. "You're not..."

Tul reached to the control panel outside the door and flipped on the cell's lights. Will lowered his weapon and killed the flashlight as the fully illuminated woman stood and he was given his first complete look at the prisoner. She appeared to be in her mid forties and stood with poise in her standard laboratory fatigues. Despite her disheveled appearance her jet-black hair was bound in a tight bun save for a few errant strands that spilled over her eyes. Will stared as a small sense of recognition sparked in the back of his mind.

"Not batarians?" Will finished her statement and shook his head. "No. I'm William Hume, captain of the MSV Hyperion. And it looks like I'll be helping you out of here."

"I'm not sure if I'm just supposed to trust you because you say you're going to free me, but I guess I don't have much say in the matter." The woman extended her hand with a small smile. "Either way, I must express my gratitude and offer my thanks."

Will eyed her curiously. "What's your name?"

"Forgive me," she replied apologetically "My name is Doctor Ana Tokagi. Sadly, I believe I'm the only remaining member of my research team."


	13. Chapter 13

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 13**

_**Unlisted Facility, Bashnir Wastes, Logasiri** _

Will's jaw clenched as his hand extended and grasped that of the woman standing before him. After weeks of running blind he could barely believe that he had finally found someone who might have just a hint of knowledge or insight. His mind felt like a loom weaving a tapestry of incomplete thoughts, ideas and questions. The fact that the doctor knew she may be the last of her group meant that she seemed to be aware of the fate that had befallen the others. The very implication that she was the only one left, however, did not bode well.

"You're the doctor from Lorek..."

Doctor Tokagi slowly retracted her hand after the brief shake. "Yes. Weren't you sent to find us?"

Will let his arm fall to his side and shook his head regrettably. "Actually, the only reason we know who you are is because we found security footage of your abduction. We're here for much more selfish reasons."

"I wouldn't put it that way," Tul interjected as he stepped up beside Will. "We're here on a matter of self-preservation."

"I see," the doctor acknowledged while looking between them. "All four of you?"

Will looked over his shoulder to see Eleena and Kallux standing just outside the door. He motioned for them to enter and stepped to the side to allow room for all of them inside the cell.

Eleena looked over to Will and shook her head. "Nothing in the other cells."

He let out a small sigh and nodded. "Doctor Tokagi, this is my crew. Well, most of them. Eleena, Kallux and Tul'Sorrin."

Tokagi mustered a small smile and bowed her head slightly in greeting. "Ana Tokagi. Thank you all for releasing me." Her lips then sunk as she looked back to Will. "You're here on a matter of self-preservation?"

"We have something they want and they're inclined to take it with force." Will lifted his rifle. "Hence the automatic weapons."

"And that 'something' is?" The doctor raised a brow.

"A prothean artifact we were hired to deliver to your lab on Lorek." Will let out an exasperated chuckle and shook his head. "We didn't make it that far."

Tokagi's eyes widened. "Of course! William Hume! I knew your name sounded familiar. And you still have the artifact! Have you looked at it? What is it?"

Will's heart sank as he and the rest of the squad all looked to one another in surprise. "You don't know what is either?"

The doctor laughed slightly in amusement. "Are you serious? All I was told was that it was a very, very old find and I would be providing preliminary data before it was to be sent to a larger facility."

"Damn it," Eleena muttered.

Will raised his hand to cover his eyes in exasperation only to have his glove bump against his visor.

Tokagi cleared her throat softly. "Just because I don't know what the artifact is doesn't mean I cannot help you."

"We're listening," Tul replied curiously.

"What would you like to know?" The doctor crossed her arms and looked down the row of armed guests.

"How about you tell us how you got here and why you're still alive," Kallux suggested dryly.

She nodded. "Of course. I suppose I should start from the beginning. As I assume you witnessed in the security vid I was abducted along with most of my team a few weeks ago. We were told nothing about where we were being taken or what would become of us. We arrived here after a few days of travel in the cargo compartment of a small ship before being transferred to these cells. The first few days the guards would come at regular intervals to each cell and take their occupants away for... testing, I suppose. However, each time they reached my cell I was bypassed. After a week or so the others were beginning to return more and more haggard than they had previously; it quickly became apparent that they were being experimented on or tortured. Both, perhaps. Sadly, there was nothing I could do for them. I had still not been spoken to by my captors and was only given dirty looks by the guards when they passed by. I began to worry that they were saving the harshest tests for me.

"Then, much to my surprise, I was visited by one of their researchers who told me that when I was abducted I had been deemed worthy of assisting something called 'Project Sommesh.' I realized that this might have been my only chance at saving myself and some of my team. I played weak and told him that I would do anything to avoid the torture that my colleagues were enduring. I would even torture them myself! I was lying, of course, but he was fooled and told me that I was making the right choice. I was put into a small room by myself for the first few days and given data to analyze. It quickly became apparent that they were attempting to break the will of the others using increasing levels of external stimuli in form of torture to induce brainwashing. Most of them had either died from the experiments or... been deemed a success and shipped off-world. I requested access to past trials to aid my analysis and found that they had been performing the same tests on hundreds of batarian laborers purchased from local mining operations that had worked them nearly to death. I decided that I would attempt an escape and look for mercenaries who would be willing to return and eliminate this place once and for all, but I was caught a few days ago and returned to my cell."

The squad stood in silence as the gravity of the situation they had found themselves in settled upon their shoulders. Will had considered the fact that the members of this so-called "Project Sommesh" were brutal, but this was more than he could have anticipated. His eyes shifted from Doctor Tokagi to his companions and then back again as he felt the need to break the silence.

"You seem to be doing well for someone who was doomed to a torturous death." Will hoped that the comment didn't come off as accusatory.

Tokagi narrowed her eyes slightly. "I accepted my fate weeks ago. Luckily, you've changed it."

"You and your late crew have my sympathies," Kallux stated reservedly. "But we haven't quite saved you yet."

Eleena nodded. "He's right. We're still in the same fucking place we've been since this all started."

"You need information then?" Doctor Tokagi asked. "Because I happen to know where you can find it. The main control room is just a short elevator ride away."

Will smirked and let out a sigh. "I had a feeling we'd end up there one way or another. We're not gonna leave you here, though."

"There's a couple sets of light armor in a locker at the end of the hall," Kallux pointed out. "You'll probably want to suit up."

The doctor nodded. "Good thinking."

Kallux and Eleena stepped aside as she walked through the group and out the door into the hall. Will watched her until she was out of view and turned back to the others as they formed a small huddle.

"You think we can trust her?" Will asked bluntly.

"I don't see why not," Tul'Sorrin replied. "I mean, what's the worst she could do if she betrays us? She doesn't even have a weapon."

"We don't  _need_  her to get the control room." Eleena glanced over to Tul as she delivered her counterpoint. "Will still has the map."

"Whether we need her is irrelevant," Kallux stated. "We can't just leave her here to die."

Will nodded and stroked the side of his rifle with his thumb. "He's right. We're taking her."

"I didn't say we should just leave her," Eleena quickly interjected.

"Don't worry, I know. You were just playing devil's advocate." Will gave her a small smile before looking to Tul. "Be ready to black out security's eyes and ears. I have a feeling we're gonna find company before long."

Tul nodded. "Understood, Captain."

Will locked eyes with each of them before turning and leading them out the door. At the end of the hall a few meters to his right Doctor Tokagi was putting on the last few pieces of a set of armor that had clearly been designed for a male batarian. She slid the helmet into place and looked to them while giving a small tap on the side of her head. Will recognized the motion and activated his omnitool to link her into their comm network. He pulled up the map and made a quick mental note of the path that would take them to the elevator that connected to the control room.

"Well, it's a little roomy," she stated as she walked toward them. "But these shields should be able to take a few shots."

"Alright, here's the plan. We're gonna get to the elevator as fast as possible. I'll take point with Eleena, then I want Tul, Doctor Tokagi, and Kallux behind us in that order. If we start taking any fire Eleena and I will move to the wall and return the favor. Tul and Tokagi will get behind us to give Kallux an open field of fire." Will looked to the krogan and grinned. "I'll let you guess what your job is."

Kallux made a small adjustment to his grip on the front of his cannon and nodded. "Let's get this going."

Will drew a deep breath and looked to Eleena. "Shall we?"

"On you, Captain," she replied with a wink.

He raised his Vindicator and turned back down the hall with Eleena at his side and the rest of the squad in tow. They passed the hall that led to the freight elevator and continued onward to another intersection with a hall on their left. He pictured the map in his head and guided the group into the new hallway. This hall was much shorter and intersected a few meters ahead with a hall parallel to the one where Doctor Tokagi had been held. Will slowed as they reached the intersection and rounded the corner to the right. Straight ahead of them was the elevator that would take them up to the control center. They had only take a few steps before the light at the center of the elevator door some ten or fifteen meters away blinked and spun to indicate it was opening. Will trained his sights on the door as it slid apart to allow a squad of four batarians to exit into the hall. The batarians laughed and joked with one another for the first few seconds, seemingly unaware of the intruders a short distance from them.

The foremost batarian froze as he finally caught sight of them and raised his weapon without hesitation. "Hostiles!"

In that fraction of a second Will realized that their foes would not be seeking a peaceful resolution and threw himself to the wall and down onto his knee with his rifle at the ready. Eleena pressed herself against the opposite wall and leaned on her shoulder to steady her weapon as she took aim with Tul and Tokagi quickly diving behind their respective human (or asari) shield. By this point the batarians had all lifted their weapons and taken aim, but still held their fire. That is, until they realized what the massive krogan at the center of the group was holding at his side.

The unsettling silence was shattered as the lead batarian squeezed the trigger on his rifle and sent a flurry of bullets toward Will and his squad. The blue glow of flaring kinetic barriers caused Will to squint softly as his rifle and Eleena's SMG unleashed a hail of fire in return. Will quickly realized that without cover he and Eleena could very easily lose their shields in the next few seconds. However, before he could even vocalize a command, Eleena had blasted a biotic shockwave at their enemies, sending two of them stumbling backward before they could open fire. The sound of the first shot of Kallux's cannon was the single most beautiful note of music to ever grace Will's ears as the krogan lined up his target and squeezed the trigger. A second and third thump rang out as the massive weapon entered the full throes of its blood-curdling symphony.

The batarians quickly recovered and returned fire as Will, Eleena and Kallux continued to unleash a torrent of bullets upon them. The first of the four Sommesh soldiers that Kallux had taken aim on took the rounds in stride before his shields failed and the next sent him tumbling to the ground with a gaping wound in his leg. Will flinched as one of the batarian's bullets impacted near his forehead and sent a splash of wavering shields across his vision. To his right Eleena raised her fist and unleashed another biotic attack, this time by catching one of the three remaining batarians in a stasis. Will immediately altered his fire and focused on the frozen soldier while Eleena did the same. A hand and pistol extended out near his head as Tul leaned out and took aim on the target as well, firing his M-3 Predator rapidly until it overheated. Four or five seconds after being deployed, the stasis faded and the batarian slumped to the ground, motionless.

With two of the batarians dead or dying, the leader raised his omnitool while holding his rifle out in one hand and spraying bullets indiscriminately downrange. Seeing that he was calling for help, Will reached to his belt where he had packed two grenades and hurtled one toward the batarian as hard as he could. The grenade exploded on impact with the leader and sent him flying into the now closed door of the elevator. At the same time, Kallux and Eleena managed to take down the remaining soldier's shields and make quick work of his armor. Will scanned the hallway as smoke from the grenade and metallic dust from where stray bullets had impacted the walls swirled in the air around them.

"I think he called for backup before my grenade hit," Will reported while pulling himself to his feet with his rifle still aimed at the bodies.

"If he did," Tul began as he stood, "then nobody heard it. I cut their comms to security before the first shot was fired."

Will glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "Nicely done." He shifted his eyes to Tokagi as she slowly brought herself back to her feet. "You alright, Doctor?"

Despite being a tad shaken she gave a small nod and looked down at the wrist-mounted screen that controlled her suit's systems. "Yes, I think so."

"Kallux, good work as always," Will commended as he looked ahead and started off down the hall once again.

The others fell into formation as they closed the gap through the smokey hall between themselves and the mess that awaited them in front of the elevator door. Will stepped over the bodies as they reached the door and gave a quick visual sweep to confirm that they were all dead. The body of the squad leader was slumped against the door, forcing Will to push him aside before activating the elevator call command. The squad readied their weapons as the doors parted only to lower them with relief as they were delivered an empty car. After loading the squad into the elevator, Will tapped the button that would send them to the command room and stood back.

"Everyone get ready," Will ordered as the elevator came to a halt.

The squad raised their weapons and waited for a few seconds until the elevator door slid apart. Will's finger curled anxiously on the trigger as his eyes darted across the newly revealed room only to loosen as he realized that it appeared empty. He looked down to the elevator's command console to see the words "Command Center" illuminated, confirming that they were indeed in the correct place. The room was relatively small, no more than two thousand square feet, and filled with numerous computer terminals. At the center of the room against the wall was a massive black screen with a blinking blue circle in the bottom right corner. Will took a cautious step into the room and slowly made his way behind one of the rows of desks. As he reached the center of the room and could plainly see that it was completely unoccupied he looked back and waved the others in. Tul holstered his pistol and made his way to one of the consoles at the center of the room as Eleena, Kallux and Doctor Tokagi stepped in and let the door close behind them.

"Tul, be ready to cut the elevators," Will requested as he slid his rifle onto his back and continued his visual sweep of the room.

"Absolutely," the quarian replied as he tapped away at the console.

Will looked to Kallux and nodded. "Kallux, stay by the elevator door. Just in case."

Kallux nodded. "Will do."

Eleena let the hand holding her SMG fall to her side as she slowly crossed the room with the same curious, wandering eyes as Will. Tokagi hurried over to the chair where Tul sat and leaned over to observe his work. As Eleena reached Will she turned her gaze from wandering the room to him and gave a small grin.

"Good work, Captain." She holstered her SMG. "You got us to the heart of the storm and with no repercussions. So far, at least."

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for them at this point," he teased as he pulled his eyes from a nearby desk. "And I guess it's now that we find out if it was worth the effort."

"Keelah..." Tul muttered. "Captain, you're not going to believe this."

Will and Eleena turned and hurried to step up behind the quarian.

Tul looked over his shoulder to see them and nodded to his screen. "The first thing I gained access to was the project's message system. On a hunch I made a search for 'Sommesh' and 'Hegemony' and this is what I got..."

Will leaned closer to the console and read aloud for the others. "To: Project Director Nox Ag'aren. Our recent investigation has concluded that your methods in aiding the Hegemony, while admirable in cause, have become too extreme. As a result, your organization's covert operation status has been revoked, effective immediately. Sent from the office of Batarian Special Intervention Unit Administration."

"Fuck, are you telling me these guys are batarian special forces?" Eleena asked with disbelief.

"Ex-special forces," Tul corrected her. "This message was sent almost a year ago. And given how easily dispatched their grunts have been so far, I imagine they've done quite a bit of hiring from local mercs."

"But Project Sommesh itself being backed by the Batarian Hegemony?" Doctor Tokagi shook her head. "I don't believe it."

" _You don't?"_  A deep voice sounded from the massive monitor on the wall before them.  _"I might be able to change that."_

The screen flickered and the image of a batarian seated comfortably behind a long metal desk appeared. Will took a slight step back and clenched his jaw before looking over to Doctor Tokagi.

"Do you know him?" Will looked back from Tokagi to the batarian on the screen.

"No," she replied quietly.

" _I would think not,"_ the batarian added with a small smirk.  _"I've never been to Logasiri. It's a dreadful place from what I've heard."_

Will narrowed his eyes slightly. "Who are you?"

" _A fair request. I suppose I don't stand to lose anything by telling you."_  The batarian tilted his head to the side and nodded a greeting.  _"My name is Nox Ag'aren. The men you've been killing so rudely have been under my command."_

Will smirked and gave a sarcastic nod of his head in return. "Oh, my apologies on the killings. I wasn't aware you were hedging your bets on us just, you know, dying."

"Ag'aren?" Kallux spoke up from the door. "I'm glad I've got your face now. Just makes things that much easier."

" _You all are quite confident."_

Will crossed his arms and shrugged. "Well, we infiltrated your facility undetected, rescued a prisoner and made it to your control center pretty damn easily."

Ag'aren nodded in admiration and smiled.  _"Easily indeed. Perhaps a little too easy, no?"_

Will's eyes darted to the others briefly. "I wouldn't say so."

" _Unfortunately for you the confidence is misplaced."_ The batarian sat up with a wicked smile.  _"The only reason you've made it as far as you have is because I and Commander Narek allowed it."_

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Eleena said with an unconvinced roll of her eyes. "We've killed five of your men since we got here. That all part of your plan?"

" _Of course,"_ he replied with a matter-of-fact sense of arrogance.  _"I couldn't just let you walk in without meeting at least a shred of resistance. That would have seemed rather suspicious if I were in your position."_

"Okay, fine. Let's say you wanted us to get here. What the hell does that do for you?" Will readjusted his stance as he spoke, his adrenaline starting to build.

" _You still haven't figured that out yet?"_ Ag'aren let out a small laugh.  _"Let me help you out. What is the one thing my people have been after since our paths crossed?"_

Will swallowed anxiously, grateful that his worried expression was mostly hidden by his helmet. "Your precious ball?"

The director nodded once.  _"And where is artifact now?"_

Will's heart plummeted as he muttered his response. "On the ship..."

" _And your ship is where?"_

He felt his pulse explode as he realized that he had led everyone into a trap. He kept his eyes locked on the screen as he ran the situation through his head, partially to prove to Ag'aren that he would not be deterred easily, and partially to keep his squad from seeing the panic in his eyes.

" _Your silence is telling. Not only did you neglect to store the artifact someplace safe, but you indeed delivered it to me with open arms."_ Ag'aren straightened himself in his chair and turned his gaze to something off screen.  _"And now that I've sufficiently bought enough time for Commander Narek to secure your ship and the orb, we have nothing further to discuss."_

The screen cut to black once again and the small blue light at the bottom corner re-appeared. Will spun to face the others with his heart pounding against his chest. Doctor Tokagi stood wide-eyed and motionless with her arms crossed over her chest. The anger in Eleena's eyes was visible through her visor while she clenched her fists; Will hoped the rage was directed toward Ag'aren and not his stupid decision making. Tul'Sorrin typed away furiously at the terminal while Kallux stood by the door shifting his weight back and forth, clearly anxious. Will shook his head and looked down to his omnitool as he reached over and opened the comm channel to the Hyperion.

"Shansa, come in!" Will stood frozen in fear and anger as he waited an excruciating five or six seconds. "Shansa!" He cursed himself and reached for his rifle as he pushed his way past Eleena and ran to the elevator. "Come on! We're leaving!"

The rest of the squad had already begun to form up before he finished speaking the order with the exception of Tul'Sorrin, who had stood by the console and was wrapping up his work. He waited a few seconds before glancing down to his omnitool, nodding to himself and drawing his pistol as he hurried over to the others.

"He might have been bluffing," Eleena spoke suddenly.

"About what?" Kallux rebutted. "Even if he was lying about everything he knows that we're here!"

Will tapped the button to open the elevator door. "It doesn't matter at this point! We're getting back to the ship!"

The doors opened and Will waited for the others to file in before stepping in after them and closing the door hurriedly. He ordered the car to the surface and tightened his grip on the M-15 in his hands.

He glanced to the quarian. "Tul, did you-"

"I got almost everything on the network copied to my omnitool," Tul replied before Will could finish.

Will nodded and clenched his teeth. "Then hopefully this was worth it."

The squad raised their weapons as the door of the elevator opened to the entrance hall. Will stepped into the hall and gave a quick sweep of the room to see no one waiting for them. Behind him the others had followed the captain and Tul was working on his omnitool to shut down the facility's elevators as an added safeguard to their exit. Will blinked and suddenly found himself in a sprint to the large double-wide doors with the words "Surface Airlock – Landing Pad" glowing above them. He ground to a halt at the doors, ordered them open and stepped in with his squad behind him. Will forced the outer doors to open before allowing the atmosphere to vent, causing them to stumble slightly as the air in the chamber rushed outward to equalize with the surface of the planet.

"There!" Will shouted as he pointed toward an A-61 Mantis gunship perched near the edge of the expansive landing pad they had found themselves stepping out onto. "We'll grab that thing and get to the ship."

Will had already begun running toward the Mantis with the squad in tow as the loud rumble of thrusters rang out from behind them. The squad barely had time to stop and look over their shoulders to see a second gunship hovering over the building behind them before a pair of surface-to-ground missiles on its winglets sparked to life and shot forth.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 14**

_**Unlisted Facility, Bashnir Wastes, Logasiri** _

Everything was confusingly silent. Will's eyes were struggling to adjust as they stared blankly into the black sky that stretched off in every direction. He couldn't feel anything. After a few seconds he shook and drew in a violently deep gasp of air as everything began crashing down upon him. A pulse of adrenaline coursed through is veins. His eyes focused and the growing hum of white noise rose in his ears. Then, almost like a switch had been flipped inside his head, the white noise vanished and the sound of gunfire and roaring thrusters filled his ears. Will drew another deep breath and the sensation of touch poured into his chest and out to his limbs. All he could feel was his skin flush with the interior of his armor until he was stricken by a sharp pain in his right leg. He managed to pull himself into a sitting position and his eyes dropped to the gushing wound in his calf. He shifted his gaze to the two small, blackened craters a few meters in front of him and placed his hands on the ground to begin pulling himself to his feet.

"Hold still!"

Will's head jerked to his left to see Tul'Sorrin kneeling at his side and prepping a dose of medi-gel. He felt a stabbing pain in his leg and snapped his eyes back to see Doctor Tokagi placing her gloved hand on the wound. Without warning she gave a harsh tug and pulled a rather sizable chunk of bloodied shrapnel from Will's leg, causing him to shout in pain. She tossed it aside as Tul leaned over and quickly administered a pain numbing application of medi-gel that sealed over the split flesh.

" _It's coming around again!"_

Eleena was right. Straight ahead of him Will could see that the Mantis had finished its flight pattern and had circled back toward them. Tul'Sorrin looked down to his still active omnitool and punched in a few lightning-fast commands. A second later his orange drone had materialized and was zipping away toward an empty corner of the landing platform. The gunship fired a second pair of missiles which departed the winglets of the ship on a path for Will, Tul and Tokagi. However, after only a second into their journey, the projectiles changed their trajectory and veered off to the empty section of the platform where Tul's drone had scurried off to. Will watched in disbelief as the explosives detonated dozens of meters away and Tul's drone blinked back into existence at the quarian's side.

"Good thing he didn't target you first." Will coughed up the words as his voice returned to him.

The Mantis soared above them and out of sight as it began positioning itself for another strafing run. Will realized he was wasting the few seconds they had and pulled himself to his knee. Tul'Sorrin and the doctor quickly grabbed his arms to help him to his feet, but Will shook them off and jumped up with bravado. The medi-gel had numbed his leg to the point where he could barely feel it. Strangely, he almost would have preferred the pain. He quickly scanned his immediate surroundings and spotted his rifle laying a few meters to his right.

" _Get to cover!"_  Kallux shouted through their comms.

Will spotted a collection of crates near the side of the pad and made a run for them, scooping up his rifle as he passed it. Tul and Tokagi sprinted with him and all three soon found themselves with their backs pressed up to a shipping container between them and the last direction they saw the Mantis fly toward. Will made a quick check of his rifle and, after finding it to be in working order, raised his comms and peered around the corner that he, Tul and Tokagi hid behind. The outer edges of the platform were lined with collections of shipping containers like the one they had taken cover behind. He reached down to his omnitool and changed his HUD settings to enable a waypoint over each of his squadmates. Two blue triangles appeared on the opposite end of the platform.

"Kallux, Eleena: you guys okay?" Will's eyes continued to scan the landing pad to familiarize himself with the battlefield.

" _We're fine,"_ Eleena panted in response.  _"Kallux and I did what we could to put some shots into that thing while they got you up."_

" _Clipped it a few times,"_ Kallux added.  _"But it'll take a lot more to bring it down."_

Will finished his survey and began searching the dark sky for the gunship. "Of course," he replied with irritation.

Tul laughed from behind him. "What? Did you think this gunship was made of mud?"

Will's eye caught a glimpse of the second Mantis that sat dormant somewhat between both halves of the squad. "Anyone here know how to fly one of those gunships?"

After a few seconds of silence the enemy gunship blasted overhead and swung around to hover at the center of the platform. The chin turret darted from side to side as it searched for targets.

" _I've flown a few gunships before, but never an A-61,"_  Kallux stated with hesitation.  _"But come on... how hard could it be?"_

"I admire the enthusiasm," Will admitted. "But do you think you'd be able to figure it out before the other one realizes what you're doing?"

The airborne Mantis gave a sudden sway toward Will before the mass accelerator cannon on its chin erupted in a burst of gunfire. Will ducked back as quickly as he could, but his shields were reduced significantly by the mere handful of shots that connected. The bullets zipped past the side of the container that they hid behind and into another sending sparks spraying into the air around them. Will pushed himself further back and bumped into Tul as he did so. The quarian gladly stumbled further back into the pocket of protection with Doctor Tokagi to give Will more room.

" _Well it looks like you're putting on a decent distraction,"_ Kallux laughed.

Will held his rifle close to his chest as he retorted with a thick layer of sarcasm. "Yeah! That was plan!"

Tul'Sorrin pulled up his omnitool. "This gunship is starting to irritate me!"

The orange and yellow drones blinked up in front of them as Tul worked away on his omnitool. After hovering in place for a few seconds the drones darted off around the far side of the container and out toward the landing platform from the opposite end of where the gunship was concentrating its fire. Almost instantaneously the sparks from the cannon fire ceased and their cover rattled softly as a line of bullets was carved into the container behind them. The gunship had taken Tul's bait.

"Well, that should buy us... five seconds at least," Tul quipped.

" _That's all I need,"_  Kallux noted coolly.

Will shimmied back to the edge of the box and peered around to see the krogan charging from his position to the stationary Mantis. The airborne gunship, seemingly unaware of Kallux, continued to spray bullets toward the two drones as they scurried along the wall of the facility. The krogan leapt into the open transport bay on the belly of the docked Mantis and disappeared into the cockpit. Just then, almost as if on cue, their foe ceased fire on the drones and sent its thrusters into a full burn as it moved away to reposition itself. Upon realizing that Eleena had been left alone in her position Will turned back to Tul and Tokagi.

"Stay here and keep doing your thing!"

Will had barely closed his mouth before jumping out and sprinting at full speed across the landing pad to the cluster of crates that Kallux and Eleena had taken cover behind. His fingers gripped his M-15 tightly as he ran as if somehow it would deter the gunship from making an untimely return. He was happy to see Eleena's helmet emerge from behind one of the containers as he barreled toward it at full speed. Will dropped into a slide and rolled into cover, his chest pounding and breathing labored. He glanced to his side to see Eleena still peering over their cover with her SMG drawn up close to her chest.

"The fuck did you run all the way over here for?" Eleena dropped down and gave him a quizzical look.

Will shrugged as he recomposed himself. "Can't let a pretty woman go lonely."

The flirtation was cut short by the sound of the Mantis swooping back in and firing off another salvo of rockets. Will closed his eyes for a split second as he waited for the impact, only to hear them detonate on the other side of the platform. He turned and jumped to his feet to look over the meter-high crate. The gunship's ordinance had targeted the cluster of containers where Tul'Sorrin and Tokagi were hiding, but two large scorch marks on the ground seemed to indicate a less than successful attack.

Will opened his comm to be on the safe side. "Tul, you guys okay?"

" _We're fine! I'm going to see if I can hack its targeting systems,"_ Tul replied.

"Kallux, any progress?" Will's eyes fell to the cockpit of the idling Mantis with the silhouette of a krogan in its cockpit.

" _I've got everything figured out but the weapon systems!"_

"Hey, Will, give me a hand with this thing!" Eleena requested as he cut the comm channel.

Will glanced over to see the asari nodding down to her side where Kallux's cannon lay propped up against the crate. He gave her a grin and nodded as she moved to the opposite side of the weapon and knelt down to get his hands on it. As they heaved the cannon up in unison Will let out a deep grunt; the weapon was somehow heavier than it looked. They set the cannon on the top of the crate, which was conveniently chest-high, and righted it. Eleena slid behind the rear of the weapon and placed her hand on the grip and trigger as Will reached up and grabbed the handle on the top that was normally used to bear most of the weapon's weight. All the while the enemy Mantis fired taunting bursts toward the crates where Tul and Doctor Tokagi remained in cover.

"This might be a little hard to aim," Eleena admitted as she attempted to swing the weapon up toward the gunship.

Will could see why. The weapon, normally carried at Kallux's side, had no sights. To make matters worse, the handle on the top of the weapon blocked any view Eleena might have by simply looking down the barrel of the gun. Eleena gave a tug and pulled the rear of the cannon into her shoulder as she attempted to look down the side of the weapon. Will pulled his hand from the top and grabbed his rifle as Eleena squeezed the trigger of her new toy. The gun shook slightly as it thumped and entered a steady firing rhythm, but Eleena quickly established control of the recoil and sent a series of shots into the side of the hovering gunship. Will raised his rifle to line up a shot with the silhouetted figure in the cockpit of the enemy ship only to pause as a sudden movement on the edge of his vision caught his attention. The airlock door that sealed off the entrance to the facility slid apart and from it came charging a half dozen Sommesh soldiers with weapons drawn.

"We've got hostiles from inside!" Will shouted to everyone.

" _Damn it! I figured that lockdown wouldn't last forever!"_  Tul replied as he peered out from behind his container.  _"Captain!"_

Tul didn't have to finish his warning. Will froze as the squad of batarian soldiers and the gunship both pinpointed the source of Eleena's high-caliber cannon shots at the same instant and turned to face them. Eleena's trigger finger loosened and the cannon fell silent. A hail of gunfire exploded from the batarian soldiers and sent sparks flying all around them. Will's shields flared from a few grazes as he grabbed Eleena by the shoulder and dodged back into a gap between two much larger containers a few feet behind them. They stumbled from a shockwave as two missiles from the Mantis ripped through the crate they had been taking cover behind just seconds prior. Will held his rifle close as he ran to the end of the tiny metal chasm with Eleena on his heels. The two darted around the corner to another smaller crate and slid into cover before their foes could catch a glimpse of their new position.

Will pressed his back to the crate and opened his comm. "Kallux we could really use that air support right about now!"

" _The weapons are still offline! They must have some kind of security clearance to activate them!"_  The sound of gunshots popped behind Kallux's voice.

" _I could try to make to the ship and take a look,"_ Tul offered.

" _You'll drop the second you leave cover!"_  Kallux let out a grunt and the sound of a second pair of thrusters filled the landing pad.  _"That gunship is goin' down."_

Will and Eleena pulled up from behind cover with their weapons ready. Kallux's gunship had jumped to life and had entered a rapid vertical climb. The batarian infantry and Mantis were both taken off guard and spun to train their weapons on Kallux, in turn leaving themselves completely exposed. The Sommesh gunship slowly began ascending to acquire a weapon lock on Kallux, leaving the ground squad in the open with no cover. Will wasted no time taking aim and firing off a burst at the closest Sommesh soldier with Eleena following his lead. Across the platform Tul had leaned out from behind his own hiding position and was laying down fire as well. The batarian soldiers found themselves caught in a deadly crossfire that sent two of them to the ground before they had even realized they were under attack.

Kallux's voice exploded over the comms. _"Watch your heads!"_

Above them, the nose of Kallux's gunship had pitched downward and its afterburners roared. Will didn't have time to open his mic and object as Kallux blasted down and into the port winglet of the batarian Mantis. The nose of Kallux's gunship ripped apart as the wingtip of the enemy craft tore into the port side of the friendly's hull. The unarmed Mantis shook but quickly righted itself and began a rapid descent to the far end of the platform. The enemy, however, spun violently as the port winglet was utterly demolished and half of the vertical lift was lost. Before the pilot could react the Mantis had entered a tailspin and was sent hurtling toward the ground below with its left side ablaze. With an ear shattering crunch the hull of the aircraft collided with surface of the landing pad just meters away from the batarian squad and erupted into a ball of flame. An explosion from some of the munitions on board blasted from the inferno and sent one of the nearby Sommesh soldiers to his death. Will, Eleena and Tul took advantage of the chaos and hosed the remaining three batarians with bullets.

" _Gahh! Tell me that worked... I don't think this thing will hold together long enough for a second run,"_  Kallux muttered angrily.

Will looked over the bodies on the landing pad as he replied. "That won't be necessary. You okay?"

" _Nngghh. Bleeding. And I think I broke a bone or two in my left hand. Damned thing cut right through my scales."_

"The military grade armor plating managed to outclass your  _skin_?" Eleena replied with more than a hint of sarcasm. "That is _fucking surprising._ "

A few dozen meters away from them Kallux had stumbled from the cockpit of his severely damaged and idling Mantis and was jogging back to the sight of the firefight with his pistol drawn. Will stepped out from behind the crate and slowly moved toward the burning wreckage with his sights on the bodies scattered nearby. After a few seconds of observation he lowered the rifle and hurried to the center of the platform where Tul and Doctor Tokagi were cautiously running to. As Kallux approached it was obvious that he had indeed been inflicted with a harsh wound on his left arm. Will wasn't an expert of alien physiology, but it was fairly certain that a krogan didn't receive a wound that deep from just any fight. Deep orange blood dripped from the nearly foot-long gash that ran from his shoulder to elbow.

The krogan came to a stop in front of Will and Eleena and held up his arm. "Slap some medi-gel on this damned thing, wouldya?"

Eleena swiftly readied a double-dose and applied it without hesitation. "That'll be a nice scar."

"Damn right it will be," Kallux agreed as he looked the two of them over. "Where's my gun?"

Will looked over his shoulder to the crater where he and Eleena had been hiding earlier. "Uhh.. over there somewhere. At least what's left of it."

The krogan grunted and trotted off to find his cannon as Tul and Tokagi reached them. Will gave them a quick look-over and nodded in satisfaction.

"You guys okay?" Will could tell they were fine, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"A little winded, but I'll manage," Tul replied.

Doctor Tokagi shook her head slightly. "I wasn't so sure we would make it out of this alive. Now I'm convinced."

Will smiled slightly, but it quickly gave way to a wince as his adrenaline rush began to die and the soreness in his numbed leg slowly crept its way back. Heavy footsteps sounded from his side as Kallux joined the squad with his cannon in hand. The weapon had been ravaged by the missile strike, but given the amount of replacement parts that Will had seen him unpack he was pretty sure that Kallux repaired this level of damage on a regular basis. The krogan collapsed the cannon and slid it onto his back with a nod.

"Damn it... we could have been at the ship by now," Will hoped the reminder hadn't come off as too defeated. "Kallux, can that Mantis still fly?"

The krogan let out a concerned sigh. "Half the cockpit's gone so I might catch a bit of a breeze, but I think it'll at least take us over the hill just fine."

"Good," Will nodded as he looked to the others. "Let's move."

* * *

It was hard not to feel anxious with the mangled Mantis rattling as intensely as it was. Will and the rest of the squad held tight onto the handles that lined the ceiling of the cramped cargo compartment on the crippled dropship as Kallux piloted them on the quick trip over the hill they had climbed just a few hours before. The open rear hatch of the craft offered the same barren view that Will had seen as Shansa had flown them in. Will had attempted to raise her on the comms before they set off, but once again he was met with only dead air.

"Hume, get up here!"

Will turned as Kallux called him from the open cockpit door and stepped forward to squeeze into the tight compartment. He had just enough room to look over the krogan's shoulder and through the shattered viewport to the base of the hill as they glided over the peak. Kallux didn't say another word. He didn't have to. Will could plainly see the corvette-sized ship that was resting parallel to the Hyperion with its thrusters burning idly. Between the two ships among the dark rocks and boulders he could see about ten figures bustling about. He managed to quell the fear that had leapt from his gut as he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Just take us in," he ordered calmly. "Set us down a few dozen meters away from them."

"Understoond," the krogan replied as he dipped the nose forward.

With a silent gulp Will turned and ducked back through the small door to the cargo bay where the rest of the squad stood with theirs eyes on him. Will reached for his rifle and smiled to himself as he watched Tul and Eleena do the same without a second of doubt.

"They found the ship. I don't know if they've gotten inside yet, but we're going to assume they have and work this  _carefully_ , is that understood?" Will looked to the asari and quarian and was answered with curt, determined nods. "Doctor Tokagi, I want you to stay in the dropship until this is sorted out. No sense in getting you involved in a firefight like earlier."

The doctor hesitated before replying with a sigh. "I... I suppose that would be for the best."

Will turned his attention back to his crewmates as he felt the Mantis level off and slow. "Don't shoot unless they do first."

Eleena let out a sigh. "If you think you can negotiate our way out of this-"

"I don't," Will quickly interjected. "But I wanna get as much information out of them as possible before we kill these sons of bitches."

The Mantis shook gently as it set down onto the surface of Logasiri, the black dirt splashing out from where the landing gears made themselves welcome. Kallux killed the thrusters and stepped down from the cockpit to join the others. With his cannon inoperable the krogan pulled reached for his pistol with a sigh.

"I feel like I might not be contributing as much this time," he lamented with a weak grin.

Will reached for his Carnifex and held it out to Kallux with a nod. The krogan slid his sidearm into his offhand and grabbed Will's pistol with a small laugh. He held up the two pistols and pointed them out the rear hatch to get a feel for the aim. He gave a barely noticeable wince from the pain of the broken bones in his left hand.

"Now let's hope my rifle doesn't seize up." Will smirked and took a deep breath. "I trust the three of you. Let's get this done."

He stepped from the Mantis with his rifle lowered but draped across his chest and turned toward the valley that was formed by the two small ships. Eleena, Tul and Kallux all moved with him and quickened their pace to walk at his side as Will led them toward the group of waiting batarians. Will looked over the potential battlefield as they approached. Standing at the center was an authoritative looking soldier with two thick, black lines painted onto the neck of his armor: Narek. Beside him on her knees was a smaller figure that could only be Shansa. She was wearing one of the light and defenseless space-suits kept on board in the case of an evacuation. Scattered around them were five other batarian soldiers all fully armed and armored. Will also noticed a pair of unarmed batarians by the airlock of the Sommesh corvette loading a small crate into the ship.

"You're lucky I'm relatively patient," Narek called to them as the crew reached ear-shot.

There was a short silence as Will walked to what he thought was a good distance and came to a stop with his squad standing at his sides. He had made sure that there were two sizable boulders within a few meters of their position.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Will replied. "Shansa, you okay?"

Shansa looked understandably worried. "I'm fine." Her voice echoed slightly as it drifted from her suit's external speaker.

"Good." Will turned his attention back to Narek. "I'd like to keep it that way."

"Would you?" The batarian inquired as his hands crossed over his chest.

Will smirked and gave a small chuckle. "Look, Narek, let's cut the bullshit, alright?" He nodded toward the closing airlock of the batarian ship. "You've got your damn ball. Just go play with your buddy Ag'aren and leave us the hell alone."

Narek nodded regrettably. "I do wish things could be that simple."

"Hey, shithead, it can be," Eleena responded with venom in her voice. "Just walk the fuck away."

"That's not going to happen," the batarian stated bluntly. "You've killed too many of my people for me to just let leave unpunished."

Kallux let out a laugh and shook his head. "Unpunished? You torture and murder people in cold blood and think  _we're_  the ones that can't go unpunished?" He scoffed and his fingers tightened around the grips of his pistols. "You're the very definition of hypocrisy."

"Those who die to further our work have not been 'murdered', krogan." Narek's voice had grown cold. "Project Sommesh follows different rules than you or the rest of the galaxy."

"You're insane," Shansa declared weakly.

Will glanced to her worriedly and quickly attempted to dismiss the comment. "Just tell us what this is all about, Narek. What is that thing and why do you want it so badly?"

The batarian shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you haven't earned the right to that knowledge. And now it's time to us to leave."

Narek reached down to his holster and grabbed his pistol. The batarian's arm then swung across his body to bring the barrel of the gun in line with Shansa's head and wrapped his finger around the trigger. As Will felt himself tense with fear a ball of purple and blue biotic energy erupted from his side and engulfed Eleena as she rocketed forward. In a fraction of a second the asari had charged the dozen meters to Narek and with a deep thud rammed him square in the chest, sending him tumbling backward. A tempest of bullets filled the air as the crews of both ships delved into battle. Will, Tul and Kallux dove for cover while unloading their weapons downrange as Eleena pulled herself into cover with her fists still glowing with biotic power. Half of the batarians, realizing they were standing in the open, jumped for cover as they took fire while the others continued to blast shots into the rocks that the squad hid behind.

Will leaned from cover and looked to where Eleena had charged in to attack Narek. The batarian was pulling himself to his feet and, much to Will's relief, Shansa had quickly crawled away and was pressed up against a rock near Eleena. A chuck of boulder exploded beside Will's head and he turned his attention to the batarian soldier firing on him. Will realized that he and a few other Sommesh soldiers had taken cover near the same rock and reached for the unused grenade on his belt. With a powerful toss the grenade rolled to the side of the boulder and exploded, sending two of the batarians to the ground. Meanwhile, the others found themselves stuck in overlapping fields of fire as Eleena unleashed a burst from her SMG onto them from their flank.

Narek shouted angrily to his soldiers as he picked up his rifle and turned to spray Eleena's cover with suppressing fire. The other batarians joined his lead and trained all four of the remaining guns on her and the nearby Shansa. As Tul and Kallux fired on the batarian's enraged and exposed leader, Will placed a series of well-aimed shots into the head of one of his underlings. Eleena and Shansa, however, had no choice but to cower behind cover as the rocks were chipped away under the intense gunfire. Narek's shields flared and dropped under the pressure from Tul and Kallux and ducked down as he bullets pierced his armor.

"My shields are down!" Eleena yelled over the comms.

Will glanced to the asari to see that her cover had all but deteriorated. A shout of pain rang out over the comms and a stream of purple blood burst from Eleena's left arm. Kallux quickly rose from cover and ran forward in an attempt to draw the fire of the remaining batarians. Narek was still nowhere to be seen, but the three others turned their rifles immediately to the exposed krogan and continued their barrage. Kallux's shields all but depleted in a matter of seconds forcing him to dive for the cover of another rock while the combined fire of Will and Tul brought down two more of the Sommesh soldiers as they exposed themselves in an attempt to finish the krogan off. Will watched from safety as Eleena to rose up from her position, her left arm bleeding, and riddled the remaining batarian with bullets.

With the field empty Will darted from cover and ran toward the spot where he had seen Narek fall, opening his mic as he ran. "Eleena, how bad?"

"Applying medi-gel, I'll be fine," the asari replied.

"Tul, Kallux?" Will slowed as he approached the rock with his rifle at the ready.

"Fine," they both responded.

As Will rounded the boulder he narrowed his eyes at the sight of Narek laying in a puddle of blood, shaking involuntarily. The batarian's rifle had fallen a few feet away, but his hand rested firmly on his pistol.

"Why are you doing this?" Will demanded. "What is this all for?"

The corvette's engines roared and dust clouded around them as the batarian ship rose into the sky with the artifact still safely aboard. Narek gave a feeble cough and raised his sidearm to Will's chest, but before he could pull the trigger a burst from the human's rifle ripped through the batarian's helmet. The commander fell limp.

"Will..." Shansa's voice called faintly.

He lowered his weapon and scanned the rocks behind him for the bullet ridden rock that he had seen Shansa crawl to. Will hurried to her as Eleena stepped out from cover to meet him there. As he walked around the rock he felt the grip on his rifle loosen as the M-15 easily slipped from his hand and fell to the black dirt. Shansa, Eleena and Will all stared in silence at the trio of blood-gushing bullet holes in the emergency space-suit's chestpiece.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 15**

_**MSV Hyperion, Sahrabarik System, en route to Omega** _

It intrigued Will that whenever the ship was thrust into an FTL jump the entire crew seemed to quiet themselves and find a place to be alone for a good portion of the trip. Shansa would prop up her feet on the flight controls and take a nap. Tul'Sorrin sat at the dining table and worked on whatever project he had taken up for the time being. Eleena would scour every last inch of the engine room in search of that illusive final button or nob that she was convinced she hadn't investigated yet. Kallux stood at the weapon bench and methodically broke down and reconstructed his weapons as if his life depended on it. Will, however, was the only one that seemed to not have a place for himself. He enjoyed relaxing in the loft, but didn't want to isolate himself from the crew. He contemplated this after realizing that this flight would be different. Will had found a spot for himself this time and wished he hadn't.

Shansa's chest rose and sank at a frighteningly slow pace, but Will could not do anything but watch, wait and hope to whatever was keeping her alive that it didn't stop. He replayed every moment since the last fight with Sommesh over and over in an attempt to convince himself that he hadn't done anything wrong. Will and Kallux had rushed Shansa to her bunk after filling her with the only remaining doses of medi-gel that the crew had stocked. Eleena, Tul and Tokagi all did what they could for her while Will used his limited knowledge of the flight controls to get the Hyperion off the surface of Logasiri and into the eight hour flight to Omega. Eleena was able to make a few tweaks to the thrusters that would get them there an hour sooner while Tul used a rudimentary med-scanner on his omnitool to confirm that, while it was certainly limited, Shansa had time. Since then, Will sat by her side silently and diligently both to be certain that she would not slip away while he was not watching, and to give himself something to do other than break down in anger or despair.

Since they were children Will had always been the one to take the hit for Shansa. When they were children living on Earth, Will always took it upon himself to put her bullies in place. In the colony, whenever they made a mistake while working together, Will took the blame. Thinking back on it all he didn't know why he always insisted on taking the blame for her. She had never asked him to once. Shansa was tough and capable, but she was also sweet. Maybe she thought that she would hurt his feelings by telling him that she could handle things on her own. Will hoped that the past few hours hadn't been some kind of cosmic karma.

"How is she?" The voice of Eleena asked from the doorway.

Will didn't break his gaze with Shansa. "Her breathing is getting weaker. If she dies because of me..."

"Hmm. So this is all your fault?" The asari slowly walked from the door to stand next to Will's chair.

"How  _isn't_  this my fault? I led all of us into a trap. I left Shansa and the ship in a vulnerable position while doing so. I just  _assumed_  she would be okay in that firefight. Fuck, I'm the one who got us onto Sommesh's list in the first place." Will wasn't fishing for sympathy. He knew that every word was true.

Eleena remained silent for a moment as she stared down to Shansa's face. She was rather pale to begin with, but with all the lost blood she might as well have been a ghost. The asari let her jaw drop just slightly as she attempted to find her words.

"You know... you're right," Eleena said. "That said, apart from getting us involved in this whole deal, I think you made the right choices with what you knew at the time."

"She shouldn't be the one to pay the price for my missteps," Will lamented quietly.

"No, she shouldn't." Eleena shifted her eyes down to Will. "But you've gotta understand that there's a lot of shit in this universe that you just can't can't control."

Will's eyes gaze finally broke from the wounded girl and lifted to the asari standing at his side. "Everything that's happened  _was_  something I could change."

Eleena scoffed and shook her head. "What are you talking about? Of course it wasn't."

" _I_  led us into a trap-"

"-that no one else saw coming either. It was outside of your control."

Will narrowed his brow. "I let her get shot."

"As opposed to what? You running thirty feet across exposed terrain to help her to safety? You'd have been mowed down," Eleena narrowed her eyes in return.

"I got us on the hit-list of a bunch of zealots!"

"Would you expect someone with no legs to be able to jump?" Eleena raised a brow.

Will paused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Yes or no."

"Of course not."

"And someone blinded by greed isn't going to see betrayal." Eleena crossed her arms as she looked down to him.

"That's not the same thing at all. I was being a shortsighted, selfish ass and that's what got us into this. And the fact that I wasn't thinking logically doesn't make it okay and it certainly doesn't mean I'm not to blame." Will looked back to Shansa and watched as her chest rose slowly.

"I never said that things being outside of your control meant that this wasn't your fault. You're still our captain and everything that happens to us is your responsibility. That's just something that comes with being a leader." The asari paused and looked back to Shansa. "But it's the really good ones that can learn from experiences like these and come out stronger because of it. I put a lot of blind faith into you early on. I hope you can show me that it wasn't misplaced."

Will shut his eyes and took a long, deep breath. "When are we exiting FTL to enter the Omega Belt?"

"Thirty minutes. You'd better find us a port near the best trauma center on the station." Eleena waited a moment before turning and walking to the door.

"You're wrong, by the way." Will called to her as he opened his eyes. "We always have some level of control over our place in the universe. From now on I'm not gonna make a single decision without reminding myself of that."

Eleena stopped in the doorway and glanced back to him. "You could be right. If you can make this work out for us I may have to agree with you."

The human and asari locked eyes briefly before Eleena turned back to the door and stepped into the hall without another word. Will listened to the faint sound of Shansa's labored breathing as he stared through the door and thought about what Eleena had said. Regardless of whether or not he could have changed the situation they were in, he knew that Eleena was right about one thing: he needed to find the best damned hospital on Omega.

* * *

The entire crew had gathered outside the Hyperion's airlock to watch as Shansa was carried by stretcher to a waiting ambulance. According to Will's diligent research, Saneer Medical Center was one of only two hospitals on Omega neither falling apart nor backed by nefarious criminal organizations. He was relieved of much of his lingering doubt after speaking to the turian and salarian med-techs while they prepped Shansa for transport. According to the turian, Saneer catered primarily to off-worlders, often times crew members of cargo ships, or wealthy citizens of Omega, but charged significantly more because of it. Will was more than ready to pay for the added expertise and security. The crew watched with solemn faces as the door to the transport compartment of the large skycar was sealed shut. The thrusters of the ambulance burst to life and the vehicle jumped up as it accelerated toward the aerial streets.

"Should we go with her?" Tul looked to Will as he spoke.

"I can't handle a hospital right now," Will replied softly. "I've got her reference number. They said the doctor would contact me on vidcomm as soon as they have something worth telling me."

"She'll be fine, Hume." Kallux cleared his throat and gave a nod off to the sky where the ambulance had disappeared to. "I thought only a krogan could take three bullets to the chest and live to tell about it."

Doctor Tokagi and Tul gave a small chuckle to Kallux's attempt to lighten the mood.

"I guess we'll know soon enough," Will responded.

"If I may.." Doctor Tokagi looked to the others. "I owe all of you an official thanks."

Will's mind lingered for a moment before he turned to face the doctor as the others had.

"I would have certainly been killed, or worse, had you all not intervened on Logasiri," she continued. "I owe each of you my life. Though I sincerely wish the price of my safety had not been so high."

"Sorry we weren't fast enough to save your team," Eleena said without her usual boldness.

Tokagi gave a bittersweet smile and looked to each of them. "From the way I see the situation: if you hadn't shown up on Logasiri at such a coincidental time there would have been  _no_  survivors. But because you did, there is one."

"You and your people deserved better." The strength in Will's voice had slowly started to return. He paused briefly and nodded to the airlock door. "You're welcome to stay for as long as you'd like."

She smiled sincerely. "You and your crew continue to give, but I must decline your offer. I have already booked passage to my family in Council Space. The transport leaves in an hour or two."

Secretly, Will was relieved that he would not have another life to watch over. "It's probably a good idea to get out of the Terminus Systems quickly. Are you sure there's nothing else we can do for you?"

"I will be fine." Tokagi bowed her head to all four of them. "Thank you all once again."

"If you find any trouble... you know how to contact us," Eleena gave her a reassuring nod.

"And if you think of any further questions regarding my internment I will gladly answer what I can," Doctor Tokagi nodded in return.

Will extended his hand to the doctor and was met with a graceful handshake. "Even if it's not an emergency, we're around."

Tokagi smiled softly once again as she retracted her hand and turned to walk at a brisk pace out of the docking bay and into the busy Omega street. She glanced in either direction before stepping forth and melding into the crowd. As Will turned back from the street he was met by the expectant gaze of his three companions. It would be hours before Shansa was out of surgery, he thought to himself.

"I need a drink," Will declared as the others parted to allow him access to the airlock.

Tul turned and stepped up to his side as Will opened the hatch to the decontamination chamber. "I think I speak for everyone when I say: so do I."

"Ain't that the truth," Eleena agreed as she and Kallux joined them in entering the chamber.

Will closed his eyes and waited patiently as the white mist gently coated his skin and flowed into his nostrils and lungs before the inner airlock door pinged and slid apart. Will, Eleena, Kallux and Tul all walked through the hall and into the crew's quarters where Will retrieved four glasses from the kitchen while the others sat themselves at the table. He opened the high cabinet and grabbed the closest bottle of liquor while grasping the four glasses with his other hand and delivered them promptly to the dining table.

"What are we drinkin'?" Kallux watched as Will unscrewed the lid of the container and began filling each glass with ample servings.

Will finished pouring the third glass of the amber liquor and sealed the bottle. "Scotch, the fates have decreed. Tul... do you want-"

"I have my own." Tul'Sorrin stated as he pulled a metal straw from a small compartment on the leg of his suit and flask from a pack on his back. "Your drink is what, human origin?"

Will set the bottle on the edge of the table before dropping to his seat. "Yep. Dad's favorite. What are we toasting to?"

Eleena smirked as they took their glasses. "How about to a good surgeon being on call at Saneer Medical?"

With a small laugh the others nodded and gently clinked their glasses together before they all downed a significant gulp or, in Tul's case, a slurp. Will let out a breath to air his mouth of the liquor and watched the others curiously. Eleena glanced down to the glass as she let out a sigh similar to Will's and nodded softly in approval. Tul'Sorrin gave a slight cough and contemplated his remaining portion, the metal straw sliding from to side as he turned the glass. Kallux gave virtually no reaction to the alcohol and set the glass on the table as though he had taken a sip of water.

"I wasn't just trying to make you feel better," Kallux stated abruptly. "Shansa made it here on nothing but medi-gel. She's tough. She'll make it."

"He's right," Eleena added. "You got her in stable shape fast. Now we've just gotta wait to hear how bad it is."

Will looked down into his glass in silence before taking another sizable sip. "If it's alright with you all... I'd rather talk about something else."

Kallux reached for his glass and downed the entire remaining portion without being phased. "Such as?"

"How about the fact that I'm gonna wreck these batarians' fucking party regardless of what happens to Shansa?" Will responded as he gently swirled the scotch in his glass. "I was perfectly willing to turn the other cheek had they taken the artifact without any violence. But now... I'm not giving them that option." He looked up to the others. "You three are welcome to join me, but I won't hold any resentment toward you if you'd rather get out of this while you can."

Eleena took another small gulp and nodded without hesitation. "I'm in."

"And I've still got one last bounty to collect," Kallux added. "But where do we go from here?"

Tul cleared his throat. "I've been waiting for the right moment to bring this up."

The others looked to the quarian as he raised his arm and entered a few commands into his omnitool. The small holoprojector blinked to life and the image of a space station appeared and began to rotate on a slanted axis. The station was in the basic shape of an "H" with a thick center. Tul tapped on his omnitool and the projection shifted to the center of the table without skipping a beat. He rested his omnitool on the edge of the table as it continued to project the image.

"On the journey from Logasiri I did some extensive datamining on everything I gathered from the control center of the facility," the quarian explained. "This is one of the things I stumbled across. I'm positive that this space station is their center of operations."

"Well hot damn. I guess we got more outta that hellhole than we though, _"_  Eleena remarked as she downed the last of her drink.

"Quite a bit more," Tul'Sorrin added. "This station was the main recipient of the 'successful trials' on Logasiri. It was also the origin of transmission from our little chat with Nox Ag'aren."

Will gazed into the red hologram as he took another small sip. He took his time to taste the liquid as it pooled on his tongue before he swallowed and nodded to the image. "So do you know where it is?"

Tul'Sorrin chuckled lightly. "'Do I know where it is?' Sobek. Amun System, Eagle Nebula. I've even got the station's orbital patterns."

Will's lips curled into a small grin as he swallowed the last drops of his drink, his eyes still locked on the slowly rotating image of the space station.

"They'll have defenses. What's their ship-to-ship system look like?" Eleena inquired as she ran a finger absentmindedly around the lip of her glass.

Tul pulled up a series of charts next to the hologram. "It looks like they carry a handful of short-range fighters in these two hangar bays." Two portions on opposite ends of the station highlighted as Tul spoke. "They also have a small number of anti-ship missile batteries."

"That could be a problem," Kallux advised humorously.

"You could say that." Tul'Sorrin stared the image of the space station down.

"And the internal security?" Will glanced to Tul'Sorrin as the quarian sorted through another batch of files.

"Only a couple dozen security officers," Tul informed them. "But these aren't mercenaries. They're Sommesh soldiers."

The four of them stared in silence for a good minute.

"I have a some ideas, but I'm going to need input from everyone to tell if they'll work." Will looked to his comrades and waited for their response.

Eleena gave him a small smirk. "We're not goin' anywhere, Captain."

Will grinned in return. "Good, 'cause this might take a while."

His fingers popped open the lid of the liquor bottle and proceeded to pour them all another round.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 16**

_**Saneer Medical Center, Atara District, Omega** _

Had the dirty streets of Omega not been visible through the windows at the front of the hospital, Will might have thought he was standing in the waiting room of one of the nicest medical centers on the Citadel. He had only been to the Citadel once, years ago, but the crisp and softly-colored walls and furniture of Saneer Medical Center reminded him distinctly of the beautiful, well kept Presidium. A pair of small ferns stood at either side of nearly every door in the large welcome area where dozens of patients, doctors and nurses bustled about in their own little worlds. Will stood to the side of the information desk with his arms crossed and eyes fighting to remain focused. Six hours after seeing Shansa loaded into the ambulance he had received a message from her doctor, a salarian by the name of Yallon, asking him to come to the hospital as soon as possible. Will and the rest of the crew had been working on their assault on Sommesh for hours by that point, and all but Tul'Sorrin had continued to indulge in their alcohol.

They had taken a couple brief breaks from scheming and each one had added to the weight of sinking exhaustion that pulled on Will's shoulders. Unfortunately, he felt that even if he had tried to rest the guilt and worry would have prevented him from drifting into what would be, given his fatigue, a sound sleep. Being called to the hospital was an immense relief. He had hoped that it wasn't the guilt that kept him awake, but the uncertainty of Shansa's fate. For now, it was the unique atmosphere of this pristine hospital located in the seedy underbelly of the galaxy that kept him alert. He was starting to regret his insistence on visiting the hospital alone after receiving the call. The crew was no doubt back on the ship either sleeping on continuing to formulate their plan. Will wished they were with him.

"William Hume?"

Will's vision had gradually blurred as he had stood staring into nothing. He shook his head lightly and turned his head to the salarian doctor standing a few feet from his side with a holopad in hand and curious, dark eyes darting up and down his body.

"Yeah, that's me," he replied.

"Very good, this way." The doctor stated curtly as he turned and walked to a doorway beside the welcome desk.

As Will hurried to catch up the salarian scrolled through his notes to bring up Shansa's file.

"I'm glad you were able to make it so quickly," Doctor Yallon commented as he found the file and began looking over his notes. "I've got a lot of post-op patients to get through tonight." The doctor's words spilled from his mouth at perplexing speed.

"Of course. How is she?" Will spoke anxiously as the salarian weaved them through the busy hallway.

"Stable, but her condition is still serious. She suffered damage to three major organs. She's undergoing regenerative therapy as we speak." The doctor turned down a hall lined with doors and windows.

For a moment Will was disturbed by the similarity between the small rooms lining the hall and the cells his crew had rescued Doctor Tokagi from. He shook his head as the rational side of his brain reminded him that that the patients in these rooms were not prisoners. Yallon snapped to a halt next to a door about half way down the hall and tapped the center of the control panel. The door slid apart and they stepped into the small room where Will was given the first glimpse of his friend. At the center of the room was a raised table with a half-cylinder glass cover approximately three feet in diameter and seven feet long. At each end were thick, metal seals with various buttons and screens that appeared to control the device. Will took a step forward and stared through the clear glass where Shansa lay on her back. Her eyes were closed and her face void of expression. Electrodes were scattered across her nude body.

"Regenerative therapy?" Will hoped that too much time had not passed for the question of clarification.

The doctor stepped to the end of the table and tapped the largest screen on the chamber. "Yes. It's the safest and most reliable method of repairing organ damage suffered from injuries such as gunshots or impalement."

"What about transplants?" Will stared down to Shansa's blank face.

"Higher risk of complications," Yallon stated as he read over the data on the screen. "We only resort to transplants if the organ is dead or so damaged that the patient may die before therapy can take effect."

"Is she in pain?"

"She certainly would be, if not for her induced coma." The doctor shut off the holopanel and turned to face Will.

"How long will it take? When will we know if the treatment is working?" Will finally tore his eyes from Shansa and looked to the salarian.

"Three days for the first question. A few hours for the second." The doctor looked down to his datapad with a sigh. "I am sorry, but I have many more patients to visit. Do you have any other questions?"

Will nodded lightly. "Is it alright if I stay here for a few minutes?"

Yallon tapped a button on his tablet and stepped past the human. "Do not touch anything and inform the nurses when you have left."

"Thanks, doctor," Will muttered as his eyes returned to Shansa.

"We will contact you as soon as any major developments occur." The doctor looked over his shoulder to the two humans before stepping through the door and hurrying back in the direction of the lobby.

Will had already turned his full attention to Shansa and barely noticed the doctor leave. She had three square bandages on the right-hand side of her torso covering the bullet wounds and incisions made during her surgery. There was one just above her right breast and two just below her ribs. Will couldn't believe that she had reached the operating table without total organ failure. To call her lucky was an understatement. Will stared down to her as the steady sound of medical equipment hummed and beeped around him. Before he had even felt his cheeks flush a pair of teardrops raced down his face and into the unshaven stubble at his jaw. He drew in a deep breath and let his eyelids sink shut as he slipped into a soft, exhausted weep. The hot tears left cold trails along his skin that gave him just an ounce of much needed comfort.

As suddenly as it had begun, Will gave a cough and lifted his sleeve to wipe the dampness from his cheeks and eyes as he drew another deep breath and recomposed himself. He was so damn tired. Will's blurred vision refocused on the red-haired woman who lay just as motionless as she had when he entered.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Will mumbled to her. "I've got a lotta work to do."

* * *

Will hadn't lingered at the hospital for very long. After being awake for nearly two days straight he was beyond the point of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion. He had returned to the ship to find Kallux, Tul and Eleena had long since retired to their beds. The far wall of the bunkroom was lined with two rows of five beds each. One row was about waist height and another at chest height and all were recessed into the wall. Each bunk had a button on the inside and outside that would seal the exposed side of the tiny compartment formed by each bed for the sake of privacy. Will hated using it. Even though there were small windows and a light on the "headboard" it made him feel as though he was trapped in a coffin. When it was only Shansa and Will on the ship he had always been bothered by the fact that they had ten bunks and only two people to fill them. Now, only half of them were unclaimed.

He had stumbled into the bunkroom to see two of the bunks sealed and another occupied by a krogan. To his surprise, the crew had awoken from their sleep almost immediately and Will gave them a quick rundown of Shansa's condition. Not long after, Will had kicked off his boots and made his way the excruciating twenty feet from the door to his bed with the others doing the same. After that he was rewarded with the most sound and deep night of sleep he had experienced in years. Twelve glorious hours of slumber later he found himself blinking as the sound of mechanical maintenance echoed through the hallway from the cargo bay. Due to the Hyperion's air scrubbers running on low priority the smell of a breakfast prepared some time ago still lingered in the air. Still fully dressed from the night before, Will pulled himself from the bed and stood with a groan. He raised a hand and rubbed his eyes groggily as his feet carried him to the two doors on the wall perpendicular to that which housed the bunks. The left door slid open as he approached to reveal one of the ship's two heads complete with sink, toilet and shower. He sealed the door behind him and stripped of his clothing while reaching to start the flow of water from the showerhead.

After a quick, hot shower Will stood patiently as the powerful overhead fan blew the water the clung to his body down to his feet and into the drain. He grabbed a towel from the receptacle, dried whatever moisture remained and dressed himself all while staring blankly at the wall without a thought in his mind. He turned and unlocked the door before stepping back into the bunkroom and shivering slightly as the much cooler air licked his skin. The alternating sound of hammering and welding continued from to drift through the hallway as Will walked to his locker to retrieve and holster his pistol. His lips parted as he pulled in a deep breath and turned to walk out of the room and into the hall. He noted that the crew's quarters door was sealed as he made his way down the forward hall to the cargo bay and ducked through the door to see what was causing all the noise. He smiled to see Kallux's Kodiak parked off to the side of the room with the krogan himself on his knees at the bow hard at work.

"So the shuttle repairs  _were_ finished. That's one variable we don't have to worry about." Will called to Kallux.

The krogan quickly finished a small bit of welding and set his equipment aside. "She's good as new. It's almost a shame that I have to tear it up again." Kallux's voice sounded from the speaker on his helmet before he reached up and pulled it from his head.

"Well that part of the plan wasn't set in stone, ya know," Will grinned.

"Na, I like it." Kallux stood and strolled casually over to the human. "Besides, it's too late now."

"You think it'll work?" Will cocked his brow curiously.

The krogan shrugged. "Depends on whether or not Tul'Sorrin can finish his piece of software. The hardware won't talk to one another without it."

"Where is he?"

"In the crew's quarters. Needed a quiet place to work." Kallux stretched his shoulders as he spoke.

Will nodded and crosses his arms. "Eleena?"

"Engine room. Lots of work to be done there as well." The krogan paused briefly then took a few steps toward his workbench.

"Is the cannon all fixed up?" Will watched as the krogan approached the oversized weapon on the bench before him.

"Heh, barely had more than a scratch," he replied as he wrapped his hands around the cannon. "Had it done before we even reached Omega."

Kallux turned and marched to the front of the Kodiak with the weapon in his arms. He knelt down and set the cannon on the ground as Will walked up to his side to observe his work. The awkward metal framing that the krogan had attached to the nose of the shuttle would have seemed out of place without the proper context. Kallux gave it a quick look before grabbing his cannon and commanding it to expand into its full combat form. Kallux lined up the weapon and slid it into the metal frame until a satisfying click rang out and tapped a button on the metal frame that activated a series of magnetic locks. With the weapon secured Kallux stood up and took a step back with a nod.

"Damn, you work fast." Will laughed and glanced to the krogan.

Kallux grinned and admired the fruits of his labor. "Now all we need is the quarian's little software patch to make it fire."

"He'll get it done. We've got time." The human nodded lightly.

Kallux gave a sideways glance to Will. "So Shansa will be under for a few days, yeah?"

Will's expression sank as he returned the look. "So the doctor says."

"Think they might look for her?"

"I'm really hoping that they don't." Will shook his head at the stupid obviousness of his statement.

Kallux turned to face him and crossed his arms. "Look, you and Shansa are good-hearted people. A rarity in this corner of the galaxy." He paused for a moment. "There's a few operatives of the RMC that owe me favors. You say the word and they'll make sure no one lays a finger on her."

Will let the corner of his mouth raise lightly in the smallest smile he could muster. "Kallux, that's really not necessary... the hospital has decent security."

"'Decent' doesn't cut it for my friends," Kallux replied. "I'll have them here before we leave."

"Thanks." Will meant far more than that. "You think we're gonna be able to pull this off?"

Kallux let out a ponderous sigh. "It's hard to say. Just think about all the variables. We've seen some of what they're can dish out, but I'm not sure we've seen the full extent of their capabilities. You, me, Eleena and Tul'Sorrin... we work well together. Far more so than I would have expected given the short time we've been operating as a 'unit'. If this station we're assaulting really is the base of operations for Sommesh we'll be fighting their best soldiers. Then you have to consider that we'll be taking them by surprise. Hopefully."

"You've gotta be the most indecisive krogan I've ever met," Will remarked with a smirk.

The krogan chuckled deeply. "Probably because I like to analyze my problems before blasting them. But if you really want an answer, I'll give you one. I've seen a lot of conflict in my time, Hume, and whenever the odds are this even, I always put my money on the side that's got the most to lose. So tell me, what is it that you've got to fight for?"

Will's eyes lowered to the floor as he thought in silence for a moment. "My ship. My life. Shansa. How about you?"

Kallux shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "A hefty bounty, the chance of vengeance for a lot of innocent people, and a six-hundred and thirty seven year streak of not being killed that I'd like to keep going."

"I guess we'd better hope that Ag'aren isn't doing this all to save some sickly children." Will cracked a small grin as he looked back up to Kallux.

The krogan grinned in return and knelt down to make some adjustments on his cannon. "I like you, Hume. Maybe I'll add comradery to my list."

* * *

The next twenty hours had come and gone before Will could count them. The entire crew had only stopped the work on their preparations for meals and a few hours of sleep that had gone by in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Will had made it his first priority to check over everyone's armor and weapons to be sure they were in exceptional condition. He organized each squad member's gear before loading their equipment with a freshly purchased stock of medi-gel and grenades. Once he had finished his work with the equipment, Will made a check on both his shrapnel wound and Eleena's bullet wound to confirm that the medi-gel had done its work in patching up the damage. After a brief second visit to see Shansa in the hospital he realized how trivial their wounds had really been. He spent the remainder of his time aiding Eleena, Tul and Kallux in whatever way he could while they hurried to finish their tasks.

The sense of urgency had grown in the back of Will's mind steadily from the moment they had docked on Omega. Even so, the Hyperion didn't depart from the station until Will was certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that everyone was ready. He remained at the helm from the moment the ship left the dock to when it was swept into the relay jump that would deliver them to the Eagle Nebula after ten long hours. With the rest of the crew off double checking their work or perhaps just looking for time alone, Will headed up to the loft in search of a place to calm his nerves.

He always felt at ease in this place. It was cramped, dimly lit and cold, but there was something about it that made him feel as though everything would be okay. He sat on the end of the couch staring at the shelf on the wall opposite from the entrance hatch. Stacked from end to end on the shelf was their old captain's personal collection of books, some of which dated back hundreds of years. He eyed his options curiously for a few minutes until conceding to the fear that he would likely not be able to focus on whatever he chose. Will straightened himself on the couch and leaned his head back. He didn't want to sleep yet. They still had about twelve hours before their plan would be set in motion. The logic did little to keep his eyes from slowly drifting shut as he fell into a gentle sleep.

Will jerked his head up as two loud thumps rang out from the hatch. With a quick glance to the clock on the wall he determined he had been asleep for a little over two hours. He stood up from the couch and walked across the small room as another knock rang out. He knelt down and placed his hands on the heavy metal lever that locked and opened the hatch. He liked the fact that this door didn't open with the effortless push of a button. His fingers tightened around the rough metal and pulled the lever toward him causing the locks to disengage. Will let out a grunt as he hauled the hefty door up to reveal the ladder that descended to the bunk room. Hanging nonchalantly from the top rung of the ladder by one hand was Eleena. She gave a small nod as she looked up.

"How's it goin'?" The asari inquired.

Will shrugged. "It goes. Need something?"

Eleena motioned to the room above her with her eyes. "Mind if I come up?"

"Normally it's captains only..." He broke his serious expression and held out a hand to her with a smile.

She grasped his hand and pulled herself up with ease. "Thanks for making an exception."

As Eleena stood and stepped aside Will eased the hatch shut and turned the lever to engage the lock once again.

"So this is the loft, huh?" She peered around the small room with curious eyes.

"In all its glory," Will answered as he stepped around her and came to a stop in the middle of the room.

"What do you do up here?" Eleena slowly crossed the room and eyed the bookshelf.

"Just relax. Have a nice nap or flip through an old book." He nodded to the bookshelf. "You read much?"

"All the time. Sometimes there's just nothing else to do on long FTL jumps." She gave him a glance. "Looks like you feel the same way."

Will smiled and raised a brow. "Ever read any human literature?"

She ran her finger across the spines of the tightly packed books and shook her head. "Not yet."

Will stepped up beside her and placed a thoughtful finger to his lips. His eyes scanned the books carefully before he gave a small smirk and reached for Captain Nieto's copy of  _For Whom the Bell Tolls._  It was an old book, as many of them were, but still in remarkable condition.

"Normally I'd suggest something more... uplifting for your first taste of human writing." Will smiled softly and looked over to the asari as he held the book toward her. "But given our situation, I think this one is fitting."

Eleena glanced to him and took the book in her hands. She turned it over a few times to get a feel for it before opening the cover and staring down at the first page. She looked back to Will with a grin.

"You know I can't read whatever language this is printed in, right?" She turned the book to show him.

Will gave an awkward laugh as he took the book in his hands and stared at the English words. "Heh, right. Omnitool translators can't exactly alter print, huh?"

"Not omnitools, but..."

Eleena reached down and opened up a pocket on the leg of her jumpsuit from which she pulled her holopad. The book-sized computer was essentially a slate of glass surrounded by a metal frame. Eleena's fingers tapped a few actions into the command bar and reached over to lay the screen across the open page as Will watched closely. With the opacity of the screen turned down the words were easy readable through the orange tint. Eleena tapped a button on the top right of the screen and instantly the English had melded into a series of alien characters. They smiled in childlike wonder. Will had seen asari languages and dialects on signs around Omega and other ports, but he had never seen them in a book. He flipped to the next page and watched as the holopad translated it in real time to Eleena's selected dialect.

"Can't believe that worked," Eleena laughed softly as she powered off the tablet and slid it back into her pocket.

Will offered the book back to her. "Guess you can hold on to this."

She accepted the offer and gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Captain." She looked down to the cover once again before glancing around the room. "Fuck... you were probably up here to be alone for a while, weren't you?"

He chuckled and turned back to sit on the couch. "I was. But I don't mind the company."

The asari smirked as she dropped onto the couch beside him and set the book down next to her. "Ya sure? I can leave." She crossed her arms and put her left ankle up on her opposite knee.

"Na." Will stared at the slanted wall that ascended from the front of the room to over their heads. "It's kinda nice knowing that you'd actually like to spend time with me."

"Why wouldn't I?" She looked over and raised a brow.

He gave a small shrug. "I didn't exactly act appropriately when we met. First impressions are pretty important to a lot of people."

"I think you've given me a decent amount of respect since then. You asked me to be your engineer even after I shot down your terrible pickup attempts." Her lips curved into a small, teasing smile.

Will's eyes shifted coolly over to meet her's. "Yeah... sorry about that."

"Are you, though?" Eleena grinned a little more.

"For now let's say... yes." He cleared his throat slightly and averted his gaze.

Her lips straightened a bit. "You're a good captain, Will. You're a good friend."

He closed his eyes and smiled. "You're a damn good friend too, Eleena." He looked over to her and shook his head in amusement. "It's funny... it's only been a few weeks, but I feels like you've had my back for a few years."

"Hopefully we'll be watching each other's backs for a long time." She paused and gave him an unusually soft smile. "It's getting a little emotional in here."

"Sorry. I can't help it when I'm around a beautiful woman." Will gave her a wink.

Eleena shook her head and rolled her eyes with a smile. "This place is cozy. I can see why you like it."

"It used to be our old captain's quarters. When he died, Shansa and I didn't think it would be fair for just one of us to have their own room so we made it a place for both of us." Will looked around the loft with a satisfied nod.

The asari motioned to a metal case with a glass door that hung on the wall near the hatch. Behind the glass was a collection of colorful shapes. "What's in there?"

Will's face grew slightly pained as he stood and stepped over to the box. "It's something of Shansa's." He opened the door and reached in.

Eleena watched curiously from the couch as he turned back to show her the beautifully crafted origami lotus flower in his palm. The color was a striking mix of red and orange and the petals on the flower were folded and creased with impeccable craftsmanship.

"It's beautiful," Eleena stated slowly as she seemingly struggled to find her words.

Will wasn't sure if her tone was due to Eleena feeling she was obligated to give the response or because she didn't admit something like that very often. He chose to believe the latter.

"I dunno if asari have a similar craft, but we call it origami. Paper folding." Will smiled and rotated the lotus in his hand. "It's how Shansa relaxes."

Eleena watched as Will looked down to the origami flower deeply. "Does she have more?"

Will returned the lotus to the container. "She only keeps her favorites. She likes to shoot most of them out the airlock whenever we get close to a port."

She gave a small laugh. "Sounds like her."

He nodded and sealed the box with a smile. "Yeah. Maybe you can ask her to fold you something when we get back to Omega."

"Maybe I will." After a moment of silence Eleena grabbed the book and stood up beside Will. "Speaking of getting back alive... I'm gonna grab some rest while I still can. You might wanna do the same pretty soon." She knelt down by the hatch and pulled the heavy door open.

"I'll be down soon." Will looked to her with a small smile. "Thanks for coming up and talking. I really needed that."

Eleena glanced up and nodded with an earnest smile. "It was my pleasure, Will. Really."

With that, the asari slid onto the ladder and descended back into the bunk room. Will watched as she stepped out of sight and shut the hatch behind her.


	17. Chapter 17

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 17**

_**MSV Hyperion, Amun System, en route to Sobek** _

Will sat at the dining table in the crew's quarters nibbling on a bland nutrient bar as the rest of his team waited around him. Kallux sat casually in the chair across from him while Eleena leaned against the kitchen counter with a thermos coffee. Will had recommended the asari try a small cup of Shansa's drink of choice and she took to it immediately. Tul'Sorrin slowly paced back and forth near the door with his datapad raised and eyes darting across the lines of code on it. It must have been the fifth time he had rechecked his work, but Will did not object. They needed everything to happen perfectly.

"What the situation, Tul?" Will glanced to the quarian.

Tul let out a sigh and looked up from his datapad. "I guess... It's ready whenever you are."

Will gave a small nod. "Do it."

"Aye, Captain." Tul'Sorrin pressed his finger gently to the screen. "Alright, system-wide automation is active."

"Good." Will looked down at the nutrient bar and set it on the table. He wasn't particularly hungry. "Looks like this is the point of no return, huh?"

He glanced to Eleena and Kallux who replied with silent affirmation.

"I've updated the mission timer," Tul'Sorrin informed them as he made a quick adjustment on his omnitool. "We're out of FTL in twenty minutes."

Kallux looked to Will with his hands on the table and fingers laced civilly. "Well, Captain?"

"Guess it's that time." Will stood from his seat and stepped back so that he could see all of them. He exhaled a deep breath and smirked lightly. "I don't mean to sound cliché, but I want you guys to know that there's no one else I'd rather call my crew. If everyone does their job right we'll serve some vengeance and get home to tell about it. And if we don't..."

"That's not gonna happen," Eleena finished. "And you know damn well that I'd tell you if I thought otherwise."

He half-grinned knowingly. "Yes I do. Now let's get geared up. Meet at the Kodiak in ten minutes."

Tul, Kallux and Eleena all nodded and turned to walk into the hall. Will stood in place as he watched them go. After they had walked out of sight and closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath to calm his nerves. He was pretty sure that he had passed the point of being scared or anxious and was now simply ready for this to be over no matter what the result. Will opened his eyes and stepped confidently toward the door, through the hall and into the bunkroom. Eleena was in front of her footlocker attaching the first piece of armor to her left shin. Tul'Sorrin and Kallux were nowhere to be seen; Will assumed they had both headed straight for the weapon bench as their casual and combat suits were one in the same. Will turned left to his locker and opened up the doors to reveal his now battle-scarred set of armor.

"Part of me never thought we'd make it this far," Will admitted as he reached for his leg armor.

"Part of you is an idiot," Eleena replied with a grin as she finished suiting up her first leg. "We're gonna be fine."

He laughed as he strapped on the first piece of his suit. "You don't have to try and convince me. I'm ready for this."

Eleena remained quiet briefly as she finished up her other leg. "Good. We need you at a hundred percent, Captain. As capable as we are by ourselves, you're the one calling the shots."

"Eleena." Will glanced over as he finished up his legs. "Don't worry. You all can depend on me."

She stepped into her boots and peeked over her shoulder with a small smile. "I... think you've finally got that leader-speak down."

He chuckled as he pulled on his own boots while looking over his leg armor. He had made repairs on the section that was hit by shrapnel, but it would still be a little weaker than the other panels. Will pushed the thought from his mind and finished locking his boots into place before shifting his attention to the chestpiece that hung in the center of his locker. After pulling off his jacket and hanging it on the door, Will reached for the light-weight, composite armor and slid it into place on his torso. Over the next few minutes he attached each remaining sections of armor to his body until the only piece that remained was his helmet. Will reached for his rifle, checked its systems for the fifth time that day, and slid it onto his back.

"Can I be honest with you?" Eleena's voice was abnormally soft.

Will took his helmet in his left hand, closed his locker and turned to see Eleena pulling on her gloves while looking down into her footlocker.

"Of course," he answered as he walked across the room to her.

Eleena finished with her gloves and reached down to pick up her helmet. She stared at the copy of  _For Whom the Bell Tolls_  that lay beside it before lifting the helmet and sealing the locker.

"I didn't really know why I was doing this before I came up to see you in the loft yesterday." As she turned to face Will he was taken aback at how gentle her facial expression was. "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't doubting our chances or anything, but it's still dangerous."

"I remember you saying something about eighteen percent?" Will cracked a small smile.

She smiled in return and shook her head. "That's what I told myself, I guess. Now I think it's something more... I wanna do this for you. And for Shansa, Tul and Kallux." She shook her head and averted her gaze. "Fuck, I haven't had this for a long time."

"Had what?" Will looked to her eyes as she continued looking to the side.

"People I can count on." Her eyes shifted back up and met his gaze intensely. "I guess I got lucky with that blind faith."

Will and Eleena fell silent as they looked to one another, both waiting for the other to speak. After a few seconds Will finally raised his gloved hand and gently cupped her cheek in his palm. Eleena's eyes darted to his hand and then back to his face. Will's lips lifted into a warm smile.

"It may have been blind faith at first, but there's a reason you're so damned sure that we can do this." He gave her cheek a gentle stroke with his thumb before lowering his hand to his side. "How about we go prove you right?"

"I..." Eleena blinked to recompose herself. "Yeah. We should get to the Kodiak; we've only got a few minutes."

She stood in place for a moment as he turned for the door before grabbing her SMG and trotting to catch up.

* * *

Tul'Sorrin and Kallux had already finished prepping the Kodiak for launch when Will and Eleena emerged from the forward hall. The engines of the shuttle rumbled idly as Kallux fiddled with the cannon attached to its nose and Tul'Sorrin double-checked the system integration for the weapon in the copilot's seat. Will and Eleena grabbed the set of grenades Will had set out for them and attached them to their belts as they hurried across the cargo bay. Seeing that Kallux had already donned his helmet Will and Eleena did the same. Will activated his omnitool as they came to a stop by the open hatch on the side of the Kodiak.

"We've got three minutes until the FTL drive disengages," Will stated over the comms.

Kallux pulled himself to his feet and flexed his shoulders. "Good, I've run out of ways to kill time."

"I could've used a hand back in the engine room, ya know." Eleena crossed her arms as she joked.

Will watched as the krogan reached to the holsters on either side of his belt. He had opted to carry two of his own pistols this time in the off chance that his cannon was rendered unusable. He pulled both weapons from their holdings and aimed them toward the opposite end of the cargo bay to get used to the sights. The wound that he had suffered on Logasiri had disappeared in just a few days, a feat that stunned Will. He had never seen a krogan's regenerative biology at work. Kallux holstered his pistols and stepped to the side of the Kodiak where Will stood.

"After you, Captain." Kallux nodded to the door.

Will glanced to his side to see that Eleena had already jumped into the shuttle and was holding out a hand to him. He grasped it firmly and jumped up to her side before turning and offering the same gesture to Kallux. The mighty krogan took his hand and leapt up into the shuttle with ease. They stepped back from the door as Kallux slammed his fist into the panel at its side to seal the hatch. The krogan hurried into the cockpit and took his place in the pilot's chair as Tul'Sorrin continued to monitor systems from his own seat.

"You positive on those orbital coordinates?" Will looked over to Tul as he and Eleena stood in the doorway to the cockpit.

"Captain," the quarian began as he looked over his shoulder, "they're right. Trust me on this one."

Will nodded in return and looked down to his omnitool. "One minute."

The Kodiak shifted as the thrusters jumped to life and lifted the shuttle from the floor of the cargo bay. Tul'Sorrin looked to the multipurpose screen directly in front of him and entered in a command with his deft fingers. From the cockpit's viewports Will could see the inner door of the cargo airlock open as Kallux strafed the Kodiak toward their exit. The krogan eased the shuttle into the large airlock and nodded to himself.

"We're clear," Kallux stated.

"Sealing the airlock." Tul'Sorrin noted as the inner door slid shut.

"Thirty seconds." Will stared down at the timer on his omnitool.

"You two gonna strap in?" Kallux asked while concentrating on keeping the Kodiak at a motionless hover.

"I'd prefer to stand," Eleena replied as she wrapped her hand around one of the safety railings that ran across the ceiling.

Will nodded and did the same as he glanced up from his omnitool. "Me too."

Silence fell over them all as the clock ticked down to the fifteen second mark. Will looked to each of his crew members and smiled proudly to himself. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and his foot tapped the floor quickly in anticipation. He'd never been more ready for anything in his life.

"Five seconds," Will spoke. "Let's do this."

Kallux's hands danced across the controls and Tul'Sorrin brought up the final command on his console.

"Exiting FTL... now!" Tul'Sorrin shouted as he pressed his finger firmly to the panel and opened the outer airlock door. "The station is on scope! Coordinates are perfect!"

The shuttle jerked to the side as the thrusters ignited and Kallux piloted the Kodiak out of the cargo airlock and into space. The sight of the massive gas giant, Sobek, filled the viewport as the Kodiak strafed away from the ship.

"We're clear!" Kallux shouted.

A waypoint appeared on Will's HUD as they broke free from the Hyperion that showed the location of the Sommesh station. As planned, the Hyperion had exited FTL just a few thousand kilometers from the space station and both the ship and the shuttle were hurtling toward it at dangerous speeds. On board the Hyperion the automation program that Tul had written kicked into gear instantly.

"Forward thrusters engaging!" Tul'Sorrin noted as he watched the data-feed from the ship's cockpit.

The Hyperion's VI processed Tul'Sorrin's commands and activated the forward thrusters to rapidly decelerate the ship as the gap between it and the station shrunk. Kallux had done the same with the shuttle and brought the Kodiak into a flight path that would take them into the heart of the Sommesh facility.

Will's eyes darted to the mission timer. Ten seconds since the mission started. By Tul's estimation the Hyperion would reach the station twenty nine seconds after exiting FTL. As the station grew in their viewport at an alarming rate, Will looked through the corner to see the Hyperion arcing into its predetermined flightpath that put it on an intercept course with the station.

"All excess power is being diverted to the forward kinetic barriers," Eleena informed them as she read from her omnitool.

Unlike the Hyperion, the Kodiak had ceased decelerating and was passing the outer edges of the station. As the shuttle continued on its course toward the far end of the station Will looked to the viewscreen at the center of the cockpit. Tul had switched the screen to the vid-feed from the Hyperion's bridge.

"Anti-ship missile launched," Tul'Sorrin reported. They expected it, but hoped they might be too fast for them to get the chance.

Will stared at the screen as the Hyperion's nose lined up with one of the station's hangar bays as intended.

"There it is," Will said under his breath.

The blue glow of the missile was streaking toward the Hyperion head-on. The ship's forward thrusters still burned at emergency strength as the ship closed in on the station. In the blink of an eye the missile flew past the camera and impacted somewhere along the top of the Hyperion's hull. The vid-feed shook violently as the Hyperion spun a few degrees clockwise from the force of the explosion.

"Two sections of armor plating are gone but the forward barrier is recovering," Eleena reported.

"Impact in three seconds," Tul drew in a deep breath.

The Hyperion had slowed to a snail's pace, but it was nowhere near the relative standstill required for a safe docking approach. The ship burst through the hangar's energy barrier that held in the atmosphere and smashed into the floor throwing a docked fighter and dozens of crates aside. The metal sheets and beams that comprised of the hangar's construction were torn asunder as the Hyperion ground to a halt. The vid-feed pointed to nothing but the corner of the warehouse-sized room, leaving Will to hope that the kinetic barriers and light armor plating had been enough to keep the hull intact.

Tul glanced back to Will and Eleena. "I don't think they can ignore bait like that."

"Let's hope," Kallux added as he piloted the Kodiak up to the far side of the station. "I'm bringing us in."

Will looked through the viewport to the second hangar bay that mirrored the location of the first on the opposite side of the station. He hoped to whatever gods were listening that Ag'aren had fallen for their trap and ordered the bulk of his defenses to the hangar where the Hyperion had crash-landed. As the Kodiak leveled off with the open hangar door, Kallux kicked the thrusters into full power and the shuttle darted through the barrier.

"We've got hostiles," Kallux stated coolly as he dipped the nose of the Kodiak forward slightly toward a squad of Sommesh soldiers who had already opened fire on them.

"Cannon is live!" Tul'Sorrin shouted.

"Shoot then!" Kallux barked as Tul pressed his fingers to the holographic button on his weapon control panel.

The cannon on the nose of the Kodiak exploded into the now familiar thumps and propelled lethal gunfire into the five batarians. Tul guided the angle of fire as Kallux held the shuttle steady and in just a few seconds had landed a killing or crippling blow on every one of the enemy targets. Tul killed the trigger as Kallux spun the Kodiak in a full rotation to check for any other contacts.

"Looks clear," Will stated as he reached to his back and retrieved his rifle. "Set us down. We've gotta move fast." He turned and stepped to the hatch with his hand waiting patiently on the release button.

Kallux brought the shuttle to the floor of the hangar and cut the thrusters. "Powering down."

Tul had already jumped up from his seat and followed Eleena as she took up a position beside Will. The quarian and asari drew their weapons as Kallux exited the cockpit and drew his pistols. Will looked quickly to each of them and, after being met with a nod of affirmation, pressed the door controls firmly. He brought his rifle to bear as the door parted and slid open to reveal the cavernous hangar bay they had touched down in. Three Sommesh fighters were lined neatly nearby, though Will had never seen the variant before. The squad scanned the room with their weapons raised only to find it virtually empty.

"On me," Will ordered as he stepped from the shuttle.

The others jumped down behind him with Kallux turning and closing the door. Will did not hesitate in heading to the front of the shuttle with his M-15 raised and finger hovering by the trigger. Seeing no immediate danger, Kallux holstered his pistols and rounded the nose of the Kodiak to unlock and retrieve his cannon. He grunted as he wrapped his hands around the weapon's handles and stood with a grin on his face.

"Hope you enjoyed her while you could," Kallux mentioned to Tul'Sorrin.

The quarian had not noticed. He was busy eying the bodies of the batarian security squad that lay a dozen feet away between them and the large door that appeared to be the exit. Beside the door was a series of dark, tinted windows that Tul immediately took notice of.

"Captain." The quarian stepped up next to Will and motioned toward the windows.

"Security room?" Will inquired.

Tul nodded. "My thoughts exactly. I might be able to get into their network from there."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Eleena asked.

Will smirked and aimed his rifle to the door as he began moving toward it. "So impatient."

The squad fell in at his side and was surprised to be met by an unlocked door. As it parted they stepped into the wide hall beyond and turned to the door on their immediate right. Tul pulled up his omnitool and quickly bypassed the security. The door slid apart to reveal, as Tul'Sorrin anticipated, the hangar security room filled with computer terminals. Will jumped as he realized an unarmored batarian had stood from behind one of the desks and reached for a pistol laying on a shelf nearby. All four guns of the Hyperion squad locked onto the batarian in an instant.

"Don't fucking move," Will ordered as though he had done so a million times.

The batarian's eyes darted to each member of the group as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Damn it." He raised his hands and stepped back from the gun.

"Wise choice," Kallux commented.

Will lowered his rifle and ran in to retrieve the pistol with his allies still holding their sights on the batarian. As he picked up the firearm he deactivated the mass accelerator and tossed it onto the desk in front of their captive who stood with his hands raised. Will looked back to the others and motioned for them to come in before turning back to the batarian with his rifle lowered. Kallux and Eleena came to stand at either side while Tul closed the door behind them and sat at the nearest terminal to begin his work.

"Please don't kill me... just let me go and I won't say a word. I don't want any trouble," the batarian pleaded.

"I don't know if you saw what we did to those soldiers in there, but Project Sommesh already found trouble." Will narrowed his eyes. "What's your name? What do you do here?"

"Tullus. I just monitor the hangar controls." The batarian was growing more nervous by the second.

"Ya know, you're the first member of this fucked up little cult that's bothered to stop and think about what might happen if you shoot at us," Eleena remarked with distaste as she eyed the batarian up and down.

Tullus looked around the room to his captors. "Look I was just hired from one of the nearby mining stations a few weeks ago. Apparently they cycle their laborers here frequently."

Kallux let out a grunt of disapproval. "How much you wanna bet that they cycle you from here to one of their test chambers."

"Test chambers?" Tullus looked to them with concern.

"Do you even know what goes on here? Or anywhere run by Sommesh?" Will stared the batarian down.

"I... no. I don't. I don't know anything. I told you, I just work the docking equipment."

Will glanced to Eleena and Kallux and sighed. "This... organization you're employed by, Project Sommesh, is kidnapping and performing experiments on people. Brainwashing them."

"What? How do you know this?" Tullus looked to them suspiciously.

"We rescued one of their victims from Logasiri and she told us everything she knew. Data that we collected there confirmed it." Will nodded to Tul'Sorrin. "He's trying to figure out just what it is they're doing with these tests and why they were so hellbent on getting the damned artifact we were carrying."

"I'm almost into their projects database," Tul commented to the group.

"Brainwashing? Really?" Tullus shook his head. "You mean like... mind control?"

Will and Eleena exchanged glances before he looked back to the batarian. "That's a possibility we'd discussed."

"And what are they being brainwashed to do?" The batarian stared back at Will as his lips slowly curled into a grin and his brow lowered.

Will's eyes widened. "Get down!" He shouted.

Time seemed to slow down as Will watched the batarian's expression turn from frightened to maniacal. Tullus slammed his hand down onto a button on the desk and a soft ping rang out from the hallway door. The squad pulled their weapons up and spun around to see the door sliding apart with an enemy squad behind it. Will, Eleena and Tul dove for cover behind the desks while Kallux pulled his trigger and unleashed a hail of bullets into the squad. The Sommesh soldiers responded with a burst of gunfire that sent debris flying into the air around them. Will, Eleena an Tul rose with their weapons ready and returned fire on the closest foe, dropping him instantly from their combined strength. Kallux grunted as his shields flared to near depletion, leaving him no choice but to overturn a desk and drop to cover behind it as the shielding died.

A biotic stasis exploded from Eleena's fist around one of the enemies, locking him in place as Will and Tul finished him off with a quick series of shots. Will's shields dropped as they intercepted a shot intended for his forehead forcing him to dive back down behind cover. He pressed his back to the thick metal as he waited for his shields to regenerate with the deafening sound of a half dozen guns blazing around him. He closed his eyes and nodded in thanks as the sound of Kallux's cannon resumed. With his shields at seventy-five percent, Will lifted himself back up with his eye down the scope of his rifle and squeezed the trigger. The fifth and final enemy had fallen.

"That son of a bitch!" Eleena yelled as she turned back to Tullus.

Will spun back to deal with the batarian only to stop in his tracks and lower his weapon. The batarian had taken at least ten rounds to his head and chest from what could only have been his ally's weapons.

"He could've lived," Will muttered as he shook his head. "But he called for backup and stalled us."

Kallux eyed a fresh bullet hole in his bicep armor. "And his allies didn't even wait for him to get clear before they opened fire."

"Is that what they're using the artifact for?" Will stared down at the dead batarian. "Brainwashing?"

"Doubtful," Eleena answered. "They were like this on Logasiri too, remember? Plus, they've only had the orb for a few days."

"Captain!" Tul'Sorrin called from the door and motioned the others toward him.

Will, Kallux and Eleena spun on their heels and hurried to the door the led to the hall. Tul nodded to the bodies as the squad approached. In the heat of the firefight no one had noticed the abnormality of their foes. Of the five dead soldiers in the doorway, only two were batarians; with them were the corpses of a human, turian and salarian.

"Shit," Will cursed under his breath.

Tul nodded in agreement. "These aren't the elite Sommesh soldiers... they just burst through the door and got mowed down. They're brainwash victims who were given a gun and ordered to kill us."

Will looked to Tul'Sorrin and nodded to the terminal he had been working on. "Find Nox Ag'aren." He looked back down to the bodies of their victims and gripped his rifle tightly in fury. "We're gonna kill him. And after that, we're gonna tear this place out of the sky."


	18. Chapter 18

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 18**

_**Platform One, in orbit over gas giant Sobek, Amun System** _

Tul'Sorrin typed furiously as Will paced back and forth behind him. Eleena and Kallux stood by the door with their weapons drawn and ready just in case they were met by another group of enemies. Tul muttered in irritation as he lifted his omnitool and made a few quick corrections to his work. Will was starting to get worried. The quarian was clearly a master of his craft, but this system was taking longer than any he had worked on before. Will stopped and turned to approach the terminal where he worked only to have Tul jump up slightly in excitement.

"I'm in!" Tul'Sorrin exclaimed confidently. "The security encryption here is top notch. As it should be."

"Can you find him?" Will's fingers tapped on the bottom of his rifle impatiently.

"If this works..." Tul's eyes darted across columns of sorted data. "Yes, here it is. He passed through a security door just a few hours ago."

"And where is this door exactly?" Kallux asked over his shoulder.

Tul shook his head. "I'm working on it."

The window minimized so that the image of the floor layout of the station could take its place. Tul swapped between the two windows briefly before tapping his finger to the screen.

"Here it is. 'Operations Room 1' is the name of the large chamber at the center of the station and it's only accessible via security checkpoints." The quarian looked back to the others. "That's where Ag'aren checked in a few hours ago, but there's no record of him leaving."

"Then it sounds like that's where we'll find him," Will finished as he turned to the door. "Kallux, we're gonna need the explosives from the Kodiak."

The krogan nodded and slid his cannon onto his back. "Give me a minute."

Eleena held her gun up as Kallux tapped the security console and opened the door. After seeing that the hall was empty, Kallux darted out and into the hangar to retrieve the bag of military-grade explosives that they had acquired on Omega.

"Tul, setup a waypoint for this chamber so we can get moving," Will ordered as leaned through the doorway and down the hall.

A few seconds later a waypoint appeared on each of the squad member's HUD directing them to the heart of the station.

"Damn it!" Will spun to face Tul'Sorrin as the quarian shouted in frustration.

"What is it?" Will's watched as Tul worked furiously at the terminal.

"They were about to activate security drones nearby!" Tul'Sorrin shook his head. "Captain, it may be better if I stayed here."

Eleena glanced over her shoulder. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"If I work from here I can monitor all of their security systems and even give you some help along the way by misdirecting troops or unlocking doors. It would be much harder to do so on the move." Tul turned around in his chair and nodded. "Trust me, it'll be for the best."

"And if someone finds you?" Will was clearly hesitant about leaving another crew member alone.

"I'll be feeding them false reports from this sector." Tul turned back to his monitor and let out a sigh. "If they somehow manage to find me... I'll lock the door and shut down the hangar's atmosphere barriers. Suck them out into space."

Kallux reentered the room with a heavy duffel bag in his arms as Will stepped closer to Tul'Sorrin and placed a hand on the quarian's shoulder.

"Are you sure about this?"

Tul paused briefly before nodding in response and glancing to his side where Will stood. "Positive, Captain."

Will nodded regrettably and turned back to see Kallux's cannon and bag had swapped places. "We ready to move?" The krogan was clearly ready to fight.

"Tul's gonna stay here and provide support," Will stated as he walked past Kallux and Eleena.

Kallux followed him into the hall. "Sounds good."

Eleena looked back to the quarian as she stepped through the doorway. "Watch your back, Tul."

The quarian looked to the others and gave them a shooing motion with his hand. "Hurry up! This operation is already proceeding twelve percent slower than I anticipated."

The asari gave Tul a smile and sealed the door behind her. Will raised his rifle and began walking down the hall in the direction of the blue waypoint on his HUD. Kallux flanked him on the right and Eleena on the left. After a few seconds a message blinked on the edge of his vision informing him of a received message.

" _I've uploaded a map of the station to the mission data,"_  Tul informed the squad.

"Got it, much appreciated," Will replied as they rounded the first corner. "Any suggestions on how to get to this place without attracting attention?"

" _Keep heading straight. There is a smaller hallway that runs parallel to the main accessway and it should be far less traveled."_  Tul paused briefly.  _"Turn right at the third intersection."_

"Understood." Will's eyes darted from side to side as they passed doors and windows. "Think we've got enough explosives to de-orbit this place?"

Kallux smirked. "My guy doesn't deal with bad hardware. He said it would and he knows his stuff."

"This 'guy' who you wouldn't let anyone else talk to?" Eleena raised a brow and gave him a questioning glance.

"I didn't want to deal with questions concerning who you all were," Kallux answered. "He knows what kind of work I do with the Collective and that whoever would be on the receiving end of this little bundle of joy probably deserves it. That's the only reason he'd ever sell this much to a single buyer."

"So he's a conscientious weapons dealer, then?" Eleena grinned as she looked ahead of them once again.

"Na, he just knows that I'm a responsible consumer." Kallux shrugged. "And that I'm most likely not gonna be blowing up anything on Omega with it."

Will smirked to himself as he listened in on the conversation. He slowed as they approached the hall that Tul'Sorrin had pointed out and pressed himself to the wall near the corner. Eleena and Kallux did the same in a line behind him. Before Will could look around the corner Tul's voice caught him on the comm system.

" _Captain, wait. You've got four armed hostiles moving down that hall with weapons ready. Looks like they're on a search mission."_ Tul paused for a moment. _"I'm shutting down the security grid in your area."_

"Do you have a visual on me?" Will spotted a camera at the base of the T-intersection they stood at.

" _Yes, I can see you and the hallway perpendicular. They're about five meters away now."_

Will pulled a grenade from his belt and primed the trigger. He held down the activation switch and crouched down to place it on the floor with his hand ready to slide it around the corner.

"Tell me when." Will glanced up to the camera.

Five seconds of silence passed.

" _Now,"_  Tul answered calmly.

Will's hand shoved the grenade around the corner before he jumped back to his feet and readied his rifle. Eleena and Kallux had leaned out from their positions to keep their guns trained on the corner of the hallway as well. A brief exclamation sounded from one of the soldiers in the adjacent hall before the detonation of the grenade silenced him. Will turned and strafed with his rifle pointed down the hall where a cloud of smoke was quickly dissipating. Eleena and Kallux moved at his side with their weapons drawn on the four batarian soldiers that lay on the ground a few feet in front of them. Three were motionless while the fourth, the furthest away from the scorch mark, groaned and rolled onto his side.

Will nodded to the soldier and glanced to his allies. "He's wounded."

"He's not a threat now, no point in wasting time," Eleena argued.

"She's right," Kallux agreed. "And he'll be dead once we destroy this place."

Will looked back down to the dying batarian. He was in the same armor that Narek's soldiers were wearing on Logasiri and Tul's station. They were right, he likely wouldn't move from this spot. Without another word, Will stepped into the hall and past the bodies with Eleena and Kallux following close behind. Straight ahead after only ten or fifteen meters was a security door. The squad stopped, but remained alert as Will opened his comm.

"Tul?"

" _Working on it."_

After a few seconds the security panel blinked from orange to green and the door slid apart. The next hall was empty. The squad moved quickly to the next door where the process was repeated.

" _It looks like our distraction worked,"_  Tul commented on the comms.  _"Most of the activity in the security network is around the hangar where the Hyperion crash-landed. They looked rather angry when they found the ship to be empty."_

"Good," Kallux remarked. "If they're angry they'll make mistakes."

Will paused as the next door opened and the squad scanned the next hall to find it empty as well. "Or they'll just fight harder."

"Way to be optimistic," Eleena jabbed with a sideways look to Will.

He grinned and continued into the next hall. "Do they know where we actually landed?"

" _They might. I'm not sure yet. I'm a little busy trying to keep the Sommesh soldiers bottled up on the opposite side of the station."_ Tul let out a sigh as his attention slipped back to his work.  _"Stop trying to open that door, damn it."_

The waypoint that Tul had sent them was growing closer and closer. Despite the stakes, Will found himself to be more focused and confident now than he had been at any point since they had been attacked so many weeks ago. The squad halted at the end of the hallway as the door remained shut. Will waited patiently for a few moments before opening the comms once again.

"We've got another door here," Will reported.

" _Yes, I'm quite aware. It's the last one before the security checkpoint and the central chamber."_  Tul's attention was obviously split between talking and the computer.  _"From the looks of it you have six soldiers waiting on the other side of the door about halfway down the hall. They're waiting for you."_

Will glanced to Eleena and Kallux. "Ideas?"

Tul quickly answered before the others could. _"Don't worry, I think I've got this one."_

As Tul'Sorrin spoke the already dim lights that surrounded them cut out completely to leave them in a dark hallway illuminated only by the soft glow of the control panel on the door. The squad activated their flashlights and pressed themselves against the walls; Will and Eleena on the left side and Kallux on the right. They held their guns on the door expectantly as they waited for Tul'Sorrin to elaborate on his plan.

" _Alright, I still have a visual on the Sommesh squad. On my mark I'm going to cut the power to their hallway and open the door. The surprise should give you a decent advantage. Let me know when you're ready."_

Will looked to the shadowy silhouettes of his squadmates and raised a brow. "You two ready?"

"I'll drop a shockwave as soon as the door opens." Eleena's hands began glowing blue as she answered.

Kallux stepped to the center of the hallway and planted his legs to give himself a steady firing position. "Waitin' on you."

"Go for it," Will said to Tul as he held his rifle sights on the center of the door.

" _Affirmative. Cutting their lights and opening the door in three, two, one..."_

The lock at the center of the door pinged and spun as it unlocked and allowed the heavy door to slide apart. There was a brief moment when the door was still opening that the darkness of the next hall was undistorted. From their silhouettes Will could tell that the Sommesh squad was looking around in confusion at the sudden loss of light, only to be met with the blinding brightness of his and Kallux's flashlights. The only batarian who had kept his eyes on the door shouted to his comrades in a slight panic at the sight of the Hyperion crew's sudden entrance. Before they could react, however, a wave a resonating biotic energy shot forth from Eleena's hands and hurtled down the hallway like a bowling ball toward unsuspecting pins.

He took aim at the center-most target and squeezed the trigger, hoping to keep his flashlight's blinding beam on as many of them as possible. Kallux's cannon barked to life a fraction of a second later and blasted heavy slugs into the dazed and off-guard Sommesh soldiers. As Eleena drew her SMG to join in the barrage the batarians began firing almost blindly in return. Will pressed himself against the wall to steady his aim as he continued to unload shots from his rifle. He winced involuntarily as a shot impacted on his arm and disrupted his shields momentarily. Another shot grazed his left boot close enough to make him feel the armor compress slightly from the glancing blow.

Without warning a wave of heat burst from the side of Kallux's cannon that disrupted Will's shields and forced him to his knee to avoid as much as he could. The krogan tossed his weapon to the side and drew his pistols to continue sending shots downrange. By now only two batarians continued to return fire, the others being either dead or incapacitated, but one was finally able to place the shot that depleted Kallux's shields. He gave a slight roar in anger as a bullet tore through the flesh of his shoulder. With nowhere for him to take cover, Eleena recognized the danger and in a split second had blasted toward the two remaining Sommesh soldiers in a ball of biotic energy. Her charge impacted directly with one and sent him flipped backward down the hall, limp. The final batarian stumbled in surprise only to be riddled by the asari's point-blank SMG fire as well as a burst from Will's rifle.

Eleena scanned the bodies on the floor around her before lowering her weapon. "Clear."

Will glanced to his side where Kallux stood looking down at his shoulder. "Kallux, you okay?"

"I'll be fine," the krogan replied with an uncharacteristic hint of irritation. "Damn gun couldn't have picked a worse time to blow out a heat-sink."

The krogan ignored the lightly bleeding wound in his arm and knelt down beside the massive gun. Will held his flashlight toward Kallux as he ripped open the small compartment on the side of his cannon. The krogan grabbed the spent, smoking heat-sink and tossed it aside before pulling the spare from his belt and sliding it into place. He locked the side of the gun and lifted it up to a normal firing position.

"Watch your heads," Kallux advised as he turned and fired a shot down the empty hall. "Alright, should be good for now. No way that sink should've burnt out already, though."

"You can take a look at it when we get out of here," Eleena noted as she approached with an outstretched arm. "Here, got some medi-gel for your shoulder."

The krogan shrugged it off. "I'll be fine. Save it for a real wound."

Will pulled himself to his feet. "Tul, I see a security door at the end of this last hall. You said that-"

" _Yes, that's the one! I'll unlock it for you now but I need to divert my attention for a moment... I think I might have been traced."_ His words shot over the comms at what seemed like twice his normal pace.

"Alright, don't worry about us. Just stay safe and we'll manage from here," Will replied worriedly.

" _I've got to go dark. The door's open."_  The quarian paused momentarily.  _"Good luck, all of you."_

Will looked back to Eleena and Kallux as the comm cut off unceremoniously. They stepped up to his side and readied their weapons as Will turned and stared down the long, dark hall. Their flashlights cast cones of visibility that ended at their objective: a door just like all the others they had passed, but somehow infinitely more intimidating. The security panel on the wall near the door blinked softly with a green glow.

"Let's move," Will ordered as he took his first step forward.

Kallux and Eleena fell in on either side of him as they walked quickly but cautiously down the hallway.

"Guess we don't have the luxury of knowing what's on the other side for this one." Eleena noted as she glanced to Will and Kallux.

"We'll be fine," Will assured them.

He raised his rifle and took the first step down the final stretch while Kallux and Eleena took up their positions by his side with their weapons at the ready. Will glanced to either side briefly and drew in a reassuring breath as he saw his allies with him. The color of the blinking green light slowly melded with the bright, white light of three flashlights that filled the end of the hallway. Will was fairly sure that he should have felt more fear or anxiety, but he didn't see much sense in that now. This was the only way.

The trio came to a stop at the door and Will felt Kallux give him a nudge. He looked to the krogan to see him attempting to take his place at the center of the group.

"I'll take point now," Kallux informed him.

Will narrowed his eyes slightly. "I can't let you-"

"I'm the one with the regenerative biology." The krogan nodded to Will's chest. "I'm also not wearing armor that looks like it was the first suit humans ever built."

"It's only a few years old," Will argued as he stepped aside. "But I see your point."

"Want me to have a shockwave ready?" Eleena asked from the far side of the door.

"Yeah." Will placed his hand beside the control console. "Ready?"

Kallux and Eleena both nodded as they turned to face the door. Will's palm hovered over the blinking green button hesitantly before giving it a tap and quickly raising his rifle. The door's security system pinged and continued to blink as the security command was processed. After a few seconds the door split down the middle with either side sinking into the walls. The squad held fast with their eyes sharp and weapons ready to fire, anticipating the inevitable shootout. They stood in stunned silence as they were met by nothing more than a large, seemingly unoccupied chamber.

Seeing no danger, Will stepped up past Kallux and into the dimly lit room. It was a few dozen meters long and just as wide with a ceiling three times as high as the hall they were exiting. The room was filled with lab tables and workbenches that all seemed to be circled around and facing a glass containment chamber. Will could clearly see the artifact at the center of the cylindrical, glass prison, suspended carefully with fine metallic armatures. A half dozen doors lined the walls of the room, though the security panel beside each of them was a faint orange. Will slowly began making his way into the chamber with Kallux and Eleena following cautiously at his side. He glanced to the ceiling to see what looked like a massive airlock door large enough to allow easy insertion of heavy equipment or emergency disposal of whatever was being worked on.

"You two see anyone?" Will was very slowly scanning the room with little luck in finding abnormalities.

"Nothing," Eleena answered. Her hands had lost their glow as her concentration shifted to searching the room.

"A lot of stuff for an unoccupied room." Kallux mentioned as he looked over the crates and containers scattered about around the collection of workbenches.

" _It's not entirely unoccupied."_  The squad froze and turned in search of the fourth voice.

A few seconds later a new light on the far wall caught their eyes. Will, Eleena and Kallux looked up and across the chamber to see a figure standing in what looked like a small room for observing the work that was to be done bellow. Curiously, the room was not recessed into the wall and appeared to be on a set of tracks that would raise or lower the metallic and glass cube from floor to ceiling if needed. Had white light not shone from the windows of the room it would have been completely concealed in the shadows near the ceiling as it had been when they entered.

Will raised his rifle to the silhouetted figure in the room. "I hope that's who I think it is up there."

A small chuckle rang from the speakers hidden somewhere around the chamber.  _"Such a pleasure to see you again, Captain Hume."_

"I'm sensing a bit of sarcasm," Will replied, his gun still trained on the dark outline of Nox Ag'aren surrounded by blinding light.

" _It's partially true. This experience has actually been quite eye-opening."_  Ag'aren shook his head slightly.  _"I've underestimated you at every step of this engagement."_

"I've heard that excuse a lot over the past few weeks," Eleena commented with a smirk. "Maybe it's time to admit that you're not as good as you think."

" _Oh I wouldn't go that far,"_  Ag'aren replied in amusement.  _"Though I will admit that your entrance was rather clever. Crashing your ship just to draw away my soldiers from your actual landing point? The option didn't even cross my mind."_

"Crash- _landed_ ," Will corrected. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. We've got enough military-grade explosives right here to take this entire station out of orbit. Why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't do that  _right now?_ "

Nox Ag'aren reached to a terminal at his side and entered a few commands. As he did, the room slowly began to descend from its perch on the wall until it came to rest on the floor. A small mechanical churning could be heard as the room was locked into place. The lights that illuminated the center of the work chamber now filled the window where Ag'aren stood and shone light onto the batarian's face. The squad held their position on the opposite side of the cluster of desks with the artifact suspended in the center of the room between them.

" _Because you're still dying to know what this is all about,"_  Ag'aren finally answered.  _"I'm not a prideful man, but I do think that my work here is important enough that even you are entitled to an explanation."_

Will glanced to Eleena and Kallux who appeared to have the same interest. "Fine." Will looked back to the batarian and nodded to the orb between them. "Start talking."

Ag'aren nodded.  _"Project Sommesh was formed for a simple purpose: to create a fail-safe for the Hegemony's dominion over its people, whatever the cost."_

"That's an unoffensive way of saying 'brainwashing'," Kallux noted with disdain.

" _You know more about our work than I thought,"_  Ag'aren chuckled.

"Let me guess, you underestimated us again?" Eleena taunted with over-the-top sarcasm.

Ag'aren's tone became defensive for the first time.  _"We are one of the Hegemony's most trusted organizations. You would be wise to respect both me and Sommesh."_

"Yeah, maybe if your asses hadn't been fired years ago," Will shot back. "We read the message. They terminated this fucked up experiment."

" _Is that so?"_  Ag'aren spoke with venom in his voice and shook his head.  _"Your ignorance on the subject of covert operations is laughable. That 'release from service' was merely an order to proceed outside of the realm of their knowledge. Plausible deniability is crucial with operations this sensitive."_

Eleena shook her head in disbelief. "Are you fucking insane? The  _Batarian Hegemony_  called your methods too extreme and you think they wanted you to double your efforts?"

Will agreed, but quickly raised a hand to try to ease the tension and attempted to bring Ag'aren back to the original train of thought. "So you experimented with brainwashing and we've already seen that it works." He once again motioned toward the artifact. "What does this have to do with it?"

Ag'aren had recomposed himself and nodded. _"As you said, we have all but perfected our methods of... mental conditioning. The only issue that remains is how to deliver those methods effectively to entire populations."_ Will could see that batarian's smile even from across the room.  _"That is where the device comes into play. The protheans were thousands of years ahead of any current civilization in terms of communication. They sent their thoughts, ideas, memories and more across inconceivable distances and I believe this artifact holds the key to understanding their methods."_

Will looked from Ag'aren to the orb with a look of shocked understanding. He felt the soft humming in the back of his head as he stared the artifact down. "You want to use it to broadcast whatever you're doing to these brainwash victims."

" _We've already made substantial progress,"_  Ag'aren added.  _"When we've finished our work I will be able to control an entire system with the touch of a button."_

"I was expecting this place to be bad... but not like this." Will turned to his squad. "Kallux, get the explosives primed and ready to plant."

" _This is where I must intervene,"_  Ag'aren stated firmly.

A door on the side of the observation room opened and the batarian stepped out with his arms crossed and his head down. Will raised his rifle to line up a shot as two doors on the wall behind Ag'aren opened and a dozen soldiers came marching from each. Will looked to the wave of enemies as they calmly approached and cursed to himself. Fully armed Sommesh victims and soldiers alike took up positions at Ag'aren's side as he looked up and across the room to where Will, Eleena and Kallux stood motionless.

"I quite enjoyed the talk," Ag'aren commented. He gave a small laugh. "Given my work, I don't often get to hear differing opinions."

Will held his sights on Ag'aren's armored torso and switched his comms to only broadcast to his squad. "This might be tough."

Nox Ag'aren tilted his head slightly after hearing no response from the trio. "As I'm sure you're aware, I'm in dire need of a new chain of command in the Terminus Systems. If you'd like to surrender, I can make the positions more than appealing to you."

Will switched his comms back to a full broadcast. "You know that's not gonna happen."

The batarian nodded regrettably. "So I do." Ag'aren looked to either side where his squads stood with their weapons raised. "Fire when ready."


	19. Chapter 19

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 19**

_**Platform One, in orbit over gas giant Sobek, Amun System** _

Time slowed to a crawl as Will's mind jumped into hyperactivity. He stared ahead where two dozen Sommesh soldiers stood with their weapons raised and trained on him and his squad. A million thoughts passed through his mind, but his instincts clung to only one: get to cover. With a room full of obstacles that separated him from the Ag'aren and his horde he realized that the workbench a few feet in front of him was his best option. He lunged forward and dove as the sound of enemy gunfire erupted and echoed through the room and bounced from every wall and angle. His shields took a few hits before he fell out of their sights and slammed shoulder-first into the metal desk. The sudden stop from his body hitting the workbench brought the world crashing back down as what had seemed like a slow-motion reality quickly returned to a normal pace.

Will righted himself with his back pressed to the workbench as his rifle crossed over his chest. He glanced to the desk at his right to see Kallux and Eleena had found cover as well, though their shields had taken as big of a hit as his. Orders were barked by the Sommesh soldiers as the Hyperion crew fell from sight. There couldn't be more than fifteen or twenty meters between them and the soldiers laying down a sheet of gunfire over their heads and Will knew that the gap would quickly close.

"Use grenades!" Will shouted into the comms as he reached for his belt.

He grabbed one of his two remaining grenades and primed the explosive before turning and leaning up far enough for his eyes to peer over the edge of his workbench. Bullets from at least five weapons soared over his head as he scanned the battlefield as quickly as possible. His eyes locked onto a group of four Sommesh soldiers that had already begun to move around the large cluster of desks in an attempt to flank him. Will hooked his arm up and over his head to hurl the grenade in an arc more perfect than he could have hoped for. The explosive bounced off the workbench closest to the enemy squad and exploded in midair, sending two of the Sommesh soldiers to the ground and the others into cover. On the other side of the fight Will saw two more grenades detonate that could only have come from Eleena and Kallux, forcing Ag'aren and his men to take cover as Will and his squad had.

"Keep firing!" Ag'aren's voice was muffled by the weapons, but still managed to rise above them.

"What's the plan?" Eleena shouted as she ducked back down to safety.

Kallux hauled his cannon over his head and onto the desk. He unleashed a few bursts of the heavy slugs that caused the incoming fire from a few Sommesh guns to cease momentarily.

"They're gonna flank us, we need to move!" The krogan pulled his cannon back down from the workbench as the fire from their enemies resumed.

"I know, I know!" Will stuck his rifle up and squeezed off a few blind shots. "Where!?"

Will felt panic begin to creep over him for the first time since they had arrived. He pulled his M-15 back to his chest and clenched his teeth when the dim lights in the room cut out without warning. Will, Eleena and Kallux's flashlights shone brightly as the only lights in the room as the disoriented Sommesh soldiers took cover out of confusion.

" _Get ready to move!"_

Will looked up while Tul's voice sounded through the comms as if he was actually above them.

"Damn it, you've gotta warn us before you do something like that," Eleena grumbled in irritation.

" _That would be wasting precious time,"_  the quarian argued.  _"Point your light to the wall ten meters away from you!"_

All three flashlights raised to the now bullet hole ridden wall behind them. Descending from the ceiling was an observation room that mirrored the one that Nox Ag'aren had used as a shelter minutes before. As the small chamber stopped at the floor with a thud the door on the side pinged calmly and slid open.

" _Get in NOW!"_

Without a second's hesitation, Will jumped to his feet and sprinted to the wall as flashlights began shining on and around him. Kallux and Eleena ran behind him as fast as their legs could carry them. A hail of bullets from the now recomposed Sommesh soldiers was unleashed toward them and tore into their shields as well as the wall and floor that they ran across. Will used his momentum to swing himself into the room by grabbing the door frame and ducked down behind the computer console, hoping that the glass and metal construction of the observation chamber was bulletproof. Eleena and Kallux tumbled in behind him before he reached up and slammed his fist into the door controls, shutting it behind them.

" _I hope this works,"_  Tul commented with a nervous laugh.

The lights in the room returned as quickly as they had vanished, once again throwing everyone into a state of slight confusion. Will squinted as his eyes readjusted and peered out the glass viewport to see Ag'aren with his hand placed on his helmet as though activating his comms. The batarian waved the others forward and pointed to the small chamber where Will and his squad hid. Will winced as a deafening siren blared and a series of flashing red lights by all the doors sprung to life. A state of panic ignited throughout the pack of Sommesh soldiers as some of them turned and sprinted to the doors they had entered from. Will could see Ag'aren shout in unbridled fury, only for his voice to be completely drowned by the siren. Kallux and Eleena had joined Will in watching the chaos unfold.

Kallux shook his head. "What in the hell is-"

Before he could finish his question the answer presented itself above them. The squad looked up as the massive doors on the ceiling began to slide apart and send the atmosphere of the chamber into the vacuum of space. Every unsecured item in the room found itself being sucked upward, including the two dozen Sommesh soldiers. All of those that had run for the doors had nothing to anchor themselves to and were torn away. Half of the Sommesh soldiers were thrown through the ever-widening gap above them. Those that had not run clung for their lives on the workbenches and columns that rose to the ceiling. As the door finished opening the atmosphere finished with it, leaving only half the number of foes that they had started with, including an enraged Nox Ag'aren.

"Yeah... that worked," Will informed Tul as he stared out the window.

" _Good thing I checked up on you. Look what you get yourselves into without me to keep everyone in line."_  Tul'Sorrin verbally grinned as he tapped away at his console and ordered the airlock door on the ceiling to shut.  _"I'll start venting in the atmosphere as soon as the airlock closes."_

"We're not done here," Eleena reminded them. "I count nine or ten of them out there."

"We need to split their fire," Will decided. "Kallux, you move to that column while Eleena and I take up positions behind those workbenches. I'll call the targets."

Kallux nodded as he looked to the ceiling where the airlock had closed. "Got it."

"Alright, let's get into position before they can regroup." Will moved past the others. "Ready?"

With a nod of affirmation from Eleena and Kallux, Will opened the door and held fast as the atmosphere of the small observation room vented into the vacuum of the large chamber. Will jumped through the door and sprinted for the closest desk as Eleena ran for the workbench beside it. Kallux ran for a thick support column a few meters away from the observation room and readied his cannon as Will and Eleena slid into cover. All three emerged with their weapons drawn and fingers on the trigger.

"Far right." Will took aim on a still disoriented soldier and opened fire.

With nearly all of the atmosphere vented from the room their shots produced only the faintest, muffled thumps. A hail of bullets tore into their target and sent him to the ground in a bloodied heap. As Will turned to the next target a shot rang out over his head. He snapped his aim to where a few Sommesh soldiers had taken cover and were now returning fire. Will, Eleena and Kallux opened fire on the first of the three threats in unison as though they were sharing the same mind. Their bullets tore through the helmet of the first enemy before they turned their attention to the next target. The room's atmosphere was slowly returning throughout the course of the firefight causing every shot to sound just a fraction louder.

"I'm moving to flank," Kallux reported into the comms as he ran from his position to another column.

"Keep up the fire!" Will shouted as he and Eleena dropped another target.

Will's shields dipped dangerously low, forcing him to drop into cover and catch a much needed breath. His rifle was running dangerously hot and his shields blinked angrily as they attempted to begin their recharge. Eleena slid down next to him, her breath as labored as his.

"Move! Now!" Nox Ag'aren's voice thundered around them.

"You've got incoming!" Kallux sprinted to the next column, bringing him to what was essentially the sidelines of the battlefield. "They're charging!"

Will and Eleena turned and looked over the desk to see the remaining five enemies weaving through the cluster of workbenches and straight toward them. Nox Ag'aren was at the center of the pack with a shotgun from one of his fallen soldiers in his hands. He fired a shot into the table and forced Will and Eleena down into cover as the pellets peppered their shields. The sound of Kallux's cannon rang out as he attempted to cut down the line of enemies or drive them into cover, but they either did not know the krogan was firing on them or simply did not care. Will and Eleena looked to one another and exchanged a determined nod before rising up from their cover and taking aim on the charging foes. Kallux's shots took out two targets in a matter of seconds, but he was forced to hold his fire as Ag'aren and his two remaining soldiers leapt over and around the workbench where Will and Eleena stood. The human and asari backpedaled and continued to fire their weapons, killing one as Ag'aren and the other Sommesh soldier charged them with animalistic ferocity.

Ag'aren tackled Will to the ground while the other batarian wrapped his arms around Eleena's legs and tripped them both to the floor. Will threw a punch up at the batarian, but hit only air as Ag'aren dodged backward and stood over him with his shotgun in hand. Ag'aren took aim at Will's chest and pulled the trigger just as Will delivered a fierce kick to the batarian's leg. The shotgun discharged off target and sprayed Will's right arm with its shot, killing his shield and tearing into his armor. Will yelled in pain and terror as Ag'aren stared down with fierce eyes and lined up his next shot with Will's head.

Dark red blood filled Will's eyes; for a instant he thought his own blood had sprayed onto his visor. His left hand reached up and wiped across his helmet to clear the sanguine mess from his sight. He stared up at Nox Ag'aren as the batarian stood in shock with a pair of glowing orange omniblades protruding from his chest and the silhouette of a krogan's crest looming over him. The shotgun slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the floor as Kallux yanked his cannon out of the batarian and stepped to the side. Ag'aren dropped to his knees and onto his side. Will recognized the sound of struggling to his left and grabbed the shotgun, clenching his teeth from the pain in his arm. He swung the gun to his side where Eleena and the final Sommesh soldier rolled and punched furiously at one another. The asari caught sight of Will and gave the batarian a kick in the gut, forcing him away from her. With a clear shot, Will squeezed the trigger and silenced the batarian.

Will set the shotgun on the ground as he panted and shook from the coursing adrenaline that had consumed his body. Eleena dropped to her back and drew in a few deep breaths as Kallux turned and scanned the room for any movement.

"Clear." Even Kallux sounded short of breath.

A splash of blood had streaked across Kallux's silver chestpiece and slowly dripped down over the Red Moon Collective's logo at the center. Will sat up and looked to his arm where blood gushed from his bicep. Eleena pulled herself up and stumbled toward him as she opened her omnitool and prepped an application of medi-gel. She dropped to her knees and applied the dose as Will continued to stare blankly ahead. In his peripheral vision he could see Nox Ag'aren laying on his side, still breathing and shaking slightly. He looked to Eleena and nodded sporadically in thanks.

"That feels good," Will managed to say.

She gave a brief, exhilarated laugh as she stood and held out a hand. Kallux stepped up beside her and offered the same. Will reached up and took hold of their hands gratefully as they hauled him to his feet.

"We're not done," Will groaned.

"No, we're not." Eleena scanned the ground for her SMG. "Tul, you got any ideas?"

" _Set the bombs and leave?"_  Tul'Sorrin seemed almost taken aback by either the question or the fight he had watched from the safety of his terminal.

Kallux dropped his cannon to the floor and pulled the satchel of explosives from his back. "Sounds like a solid plan to me."

Will nodded as his mind finally caught up to reality, his breathing still labored. "Yeah... I seem to recall something about setting the bombs in our mission statement."

The krogan ripped open the duffel bag and pulled out the five cylindrical explosive charges carefully. Eleena and Kallux quickly set to work priming the devices as Will turned in search of his rifle. He found the M-15 a few feet from where he had fallen to the ground and slid the weapon onto his back.

"What should we set the countdown for?" Eleena asked as she examined one of the bombs.

"Ten minutes sounds good," Will replied.

He bent down to pick up the shotgun that Nox Ag'aren had dropped and examined the weapon carefully. Will shrugged to himself and slid the shotgun onto his back beside his rifle.

"You were right," a voice coughed from the floor.

Will looked down to where Nox Ag'aren was laying in a pool of blood. He hadn't expected the batarian to live more than a few minutes, much less talk.

"Right about what?" Will walked past the batarian and knelt beside his squad to assist in prepping the bombs.

Ag'aren's voice was almost too weak to decipher. "You are more capable. I cannot deny it anymore."

"Good," Eleena snorted. "You'd sound pretty pathetic claiming the whole, 'I underestimated you' excuse after out numbering us ten to one."

The batarian remained silent for a moment. "Have the courtesy to kill me. It's clear that you aren't people who enjoy the suffering of others."

Will let out a sigh. "You're right about that." He looked over his shoulder to the batarian. "But you lost the chance for my sympathy a long time ago. You're just gonna have to wait a nice ten minutes."

Kallux tossed the explosives into the satchel once again. "Alright. They're ready to go."

Will nodded and turned back to Eleena and Kallux. "Exfil as we'd planned. Kallux, get back to Tul and the shuttle. Eleena and I will get to the Hyperion."

" _I've got a few tricks ready to make things easier for everyone,"_  Tul piped in.  _"I'll be setting off all the alarms in all sectors. Hopefully it will cause a fair amount of panic to cover your escape."_

"How do you think up such deep and bulletproof plans?" Eleena grinned as she checked her SMG over.

" _Do you have a better idea?"_

The asari shook her head. "Na. Actually it sounds kinda fun."

Kallux lifted the bag to his side and walked to the center of the room where the artifact remained in containment. Will stared at the orb and for the briefest moment considered asking Tul if there was a way to retrieve it. He shook his head and pulled the M-15 from his back. Kallux tossed the bag next to the glass tube that housed the artifact and walked back to retrieve his cannon.

"Well then," Will began as he pulled up his omnitool. "Everyone ready to end this?"

Eleena nodded and raised her SMG to assume her attack position. "When you are, Captain."

Will glanced to Nox Ag'aren as he opened his omnitool. "It's been a pleasure."

The batarian coughed weakly and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling. "I'm sure..."

A clock displaying ten minutes appeared on their HUDs as Will started the countdown.

Kallux grinned to his two companions as he began walking to the door from which they had entered. "See you two on the other side."

"Don't get into too much trouble without us," Will called after him as the krogan opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

As Will turned back to Eleena she motioned toward the opposite wall. "Shall we?"

Will raised his rifle and nodded. "Tul, got a route for us?"

" _Yes, but first..."_

The sound of emergency sirens and flashing red lights filled the room once again. Will looked up to the airlock on the ceiling nervously.

" _Relax, it's just an evacuation alarm,"_  Tul'Sorrin reassured him.  _"I've unlocked a door across the room. Head through it and I'll direct you from there."_

Will glanced to Eleena and the pair hurried off toward the door with a green security panel. The door opened automatically as they arrived to a hallway filled with the same flashing red lights and blaring siren. They ran down the hall with their eyes ever alert and scanning their surroundings.

" _Turn right here,"_  Tul advised.

Will and Eleena rounded the corner to see a trio of batarians in lab suits running down the hall toward them. They held their weapons up cautiously, but the scientists ignored them and ran past the human and asari as if they had not even been noticed.

"Guess the alarm thing is working," Eleena remarked as the set off down the hall once again.

" _What was that? My plan is working flawlessly?"_

Will grinned as they stepped through the doorway at the end of a hall. "Gloat later, Tul."

" _Fine, fine. Take a left. Ah, and it seems Kallux has arrived."_  Tul'Sorrin updated the squad's waypoint to lead them the rest of the way to the hangar.  _"Head straight after that left and through the next two doors. But be careful, I see movement in the hangar."_

"Got it." Will replied as they rounded the last turn and continued on down the hall. "Good work, Tul."

" _We're loading into the Kodiak now."_  The quarian paused.  _"See you in a minute."_

"We should have Tul'Sorrin play overwatch every time we do this." Eleena gave Will a sideways glance as they continued through the next door.

"Are you saying you wanna do this again sometime?" Will smirked in response.

Eleena shrugged. "I dunno, is that an offer?"

Will laughed and shook his head. "Let's see how this one ends first." His mood dropped slightly as he read a sign on the wall pointing them to the hangar. "You think the Hyperion held together?"

The asari stayed silent for a second before nodding. "I think so." She brought up her omnitool. "The damage assessments are pretty severe, but it should be able to get us out of the station at the least."

The pair slowed as they neared the final doorway at the end of the hall. Beyond it was the hangar where the Hyperion had crash-landed. Will approached the control console and extended a hand as Eleena held her sights on the center of the door, waiting. Will tapped the button and whipped his rifle up as he turned to face the door with Eleena. The door pinged and slid apart to reveal a cavernous hangar identical to the one on the opposite side of the station. The first thing that caught Will's attention was the Hyperion; it had torn up half of the hangar and was resting on the far side with metal panels and beams splayed around it. He smiled to himself at the sight of the ship in one piece.

"Will!"

Eleena's exclamation gave him a jolt as he turned to his left to see the asari standing with her gun pointed at a group of ten or so Sommesh soldiers who stood with their guns trained on them. The enemy squad appeared to have been in the process of evacuating into a Kodiak as Will and Eleena entered. Will raised his rifle to the group and cursed to himself.

"Let's not do something we'll all regret," Will shouted to the group.

The squad leader laughed and nodded to his men. "Kill them."

Will wrapped his arm around Eleena pulled them both back through the doorway as bullets impacted all around them. They rolled to their knees and raised their weapons only to stop and watch as a black Kodiak soared through the barrier and turned to face the batarians. Will and Eleena let out a sigh of relief as the squad turned and raised their weapons to the shuttle as the massive cannon on the front opened fire and tore the soldiers apart. Will took aim and fired into the enemies as Eleena sent a shockwave toward them, causing them to stumble and fall to the ground as they attempted to run for cover. In a matter of seconds the final Sommesh soldier had fallen and the Kodiak spun to scan the hangar for any more targets.

" _How many times am I going to have to save you today?"_  Tul'Sorrin asked jokingly.

Kallux laughed over the comms.  _"I think that one was a joint effort. Now hurry up and get to the ship, we've only got four minutes."_

The sense of urgency suddenly dropped like a ton of bricks onto Will's shoulders. He helped Eleena up from her knee before turning and sprinting across the hangar to where they Hyperion lay. He reached up to the outer airlock and opened the door allowing the pair to jump up into the decontamination chamber. Eleena was scanning through her omnitool as they waited for the mist to cover them, her eyes darting back and forth at dizzying speeds. Will stowed his rifle on his back as the inner airlock door opened, allowing him to run for the cockpit as Eleena turned and ran for the engine room. He ripped off his helmet and tossed it aside as he slid into the pilot's seat and brought up the flight controls. As he activated the holopanel a thousand warning messages filled the screen only to be immediately ignored.

"Eleena, I'm starting the thrusters," Will reported as he activated the tight maneuvering systems.

" _I hear ya. Everything's checking out back here."_ The sound of warning sirens from the engine room rang through Eleena's comm.

The small thrusters on the front and belly of the Hyperion ignited and roared to life, forcing the ship to stubbornly rise from the floor of the hangar. The ship shook noticeably, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. Will pulled the ship from the corner and sent it into a slow spin that brought nose in line with the atmospheric barrier. The Kodiak zipped out of the hangar ahead of them as Will looked down and made a quick check of the primary thrusters.

"Igniting the thrusters," he stated while holding his breath.

The Hyperion shook violently as he pushed the thrusters into a burn and eased the ship forward and out of the hangar. Will exhaled and began taking slow, deep breaths as he concentrated and brought the ship into a gentle arc that would turn them around a few dozen kilometers from the station. The Hyperion rounded out and pointed back at the space station to give Will a perfect view through the forward viewports. The Kodiak slowly flew toward the side of the ship and he reached to his right to open the outer cargo airlock.

"How are we looking?" Will asked to Eleena.

" _I'll be able to manage everything back here. The hull integrity is still around sixty percent."_  She let out a satisfied sigh.  _"Looks like we'll be flying her home."_

A smile spread across his face as he sat back and stared out he window. "There's a great view up here if you'd care to join me."

" _Don't mind if I do."_

Will opened a comm link to the Kodiak. "Everything okay with you two?"

" _Entering the cargo bay now,"_ Kallux replied.

Despite the numerous warning lights and messages that flashed on the screens around him, Will couldn't help but let out a sigh and smile contently. He raised his arms to place his hands behind his head, but winced at the pain in his right bicep and lowered it to the armrest. The sound of boots and exuberant chatter filled the hallway behind him as Eleena, Kallux and Tul hurried from the cargo bay to the cockpit where Will sat relaxing. Eleena ducked into the cockpit first and took claim to the co-pilot's seat while Kallux and Tul'Sorrin stepped in and looked through the viewport. The gas giant of Sobek was a perfect background to the space station as it floated along, occasionally blasting an escape pod out into space. Will looked over his shoulder and smiled as Kallux and Eleena pulled their helmets off while Tul leaned forward to get a better view.

"Twenty seconds on the countdown," Tul'Sorrin mentioned.

Eleena closed her eyes and leaned her head back. "That's almost enough time for a quick nap."

Will looked back out the viewport. "I'm not taking my chances... this is one show I'm not gonna miss."

After a few more seconds a blinding flash erupted from the center of the H-shaped station that sent enormous chunks of debris hurtling outward from the explosion. Strangely, Will didn't feel excited or happy, or even a sense of triumph. It pained him, but somehow it felt right.

"That might be the most satisfying explosion I've ever seen," Kallux remarked with a smirk.

The hull integrity of the station gave way a few seconds after the bombs had detonated and the two halves of the station slowly began twisting away from one another. It would take a few hours before they would fall from orbit and into the crushing depths of Sobek, but this was all Will needed to see.

"I think it's time we got back to Omega," Will mentioned as he looked over his shoulder again with an exhausted smile. "I owe you all a drink or ten."


	20. Chapter 20

**The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside**

**Chapter 20**

_**Saneer Medical Center, Atara District, Omega** _

The lobby of Saneer Medical Center was bustling as usual. Will sat in a chair in the corner of the large room with his arms crossed and foot tapping the floor anxiously as he watched the visitors, patients and staff go about their business. The trip back to Omega had taken longer than he had anticipated; Eleena had adamantly requested that the Hyperion not exceed fifty percent thrust capacity due to the damage it had suffered. Will had agreed without hesitation and spent the two and a half day trip nursing his shoulder back to health. It was still bandaged under his jacket, but the pain had all but subsided and he would quickly be able to move it without feeling the ache.

The last two times he had waited in this room were agonizing. Shansa had not regained consciousness before they set off to Sobek and it pained him to leave Omega while she was still under. His worry was not due to her health, however. He was more than certain that she was strong enough to make a full recovery. He worried that if something were to happen to him and the rest of the crew that he would have never had a chance to say goodbye. Not to mention the fact that if they had failed she would be on her own with their enemies still on the hunt. Fortunately, none of those worries had come to fruition and Will had even gotten in touch with the hospital to find that Shansa's treatment had been a success.

Will now sat patiently as he waited for the nurse who had helped him to return with Shansa. The asari nurse had informed him that Shansa had been fit for discharge for over a day but chose to remain in the hospital. Apparently she had wanted Will to know where she would be just in case there was no way for them to get in contact with one another. He regretted only leaving a message with the hospital staff explaining the Hyperion's absence, but they had been pressed for time and couldn't afford to wait for her to be brought out of her coma.

His eyes were locked on the entrance hallway that led into the hospital. He had been sitting for well over ten minutes, but he wasn't about to complain about the wait. No doubt there was a procedure for releasing a patient who had been in her condition only five or six days earlier. Finally, the nurse that had helped him when he had arrived emerged from the hallway while looking over her shoulder and nodding with a smile to the girl following her. Shansa was wearing a crisp white blouse and black pants that Will could only assume had been provided by the hospital as the clothes she had been wearing were torn to shreds. She looked tired, as Will could only expect, and lacked the normal skip in her step, but as Shansa and Will locked eyes her expression melted into a relieved, perhaps joyous, smile. Shansa gave one last nod of thanks to her nurse as Will pulled himself to his feet and hurried across the room to her. She turned back to face Will as he approached and nearly leapt toward him with her arms spread.

As they caught each other in a tight hug Will gave a small, happy laugh. "So how was the check-up?"

Shansa gave a surprised laugh and buried her face into his shoulder. "So this is all a big joke, huh?"

Will gave her copper hair a loving stroke. "Sorry, sorry... it's how I cope."

"Just teasing," she responded. "I'm so glad you're okay."

" _You're_  glad that  _I'm_ okay?" Will chuckled as they parted from the embrace, his hands sliding from her back to her arms. "You're the one who was in a coma for three days. Do we need to have the doctors do a memory test?"

Shansa cocked her brow challengingly. "You left me a vague note about 'going after the source of the problem and ending it.' I think I had every right to worry about something like that."

He smiled and nodded. "Fair enough."

Shansa's lips sunk slightly. "Speaking of which. Did you..?"

Will nodded lightly. "Yeah. It's done. It didn't go perfectly, but we got pretty close."

Her smile resumed. "My hero."

He looked down to her torso where she had been shot. "Is everything..."

"I'm okay for now, but the doctor said I'll be as good as new in a few more days." She bit her lip excitedly. "But medicine is boring! When do I get to hear the story?"

Will grinned and put his arm around her waist as he turned them and began walking to the door. "I was kinda thinking that the rest of the crew might wanna be around for that. You know, just to make sure I get everything right."

Her eyes widened excitedly as they stepped through the front door and onto the Omega streets. "Of course! Is everyone okay?"

"They sure are," he replied. "They're waiting for us at a bar a few districts down."

"I dunno if alcohol would be the best thing for me right now," Shansa remarked with a smirk. "But I  _could_  go for a nice, cold glass of water."

Will stopped at the taxi terminal and hailed a cab before turning back to Shansa. She smiled up to him with clearly tired but elated brown eyes. He stepped toward her and wrapped his arms around her once again.

"Damn it," Will stumbled with his words. "I... I'm really glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're safe too, Will." She reciprocated his hug and stepped back as a cab landed a few feet away. "Come on, we've got some friends to see."

He gave her a small grin. "Yeah, you're right."

They turned and stepped into the automated cab and shut their door behind them. Will leaned forward to select the Tilno District on the cab control console and sat back with a happy sigh as the taxi lifted off.

* * *

It wasn't a long walk from the landing pad where Will and Shansa's taxi had landed to the bar that Eleena had suggested. The Tilno District was filled with workshops and garages that worked on the skycars, shuttles and even ship components making it obvious why the asari's favorite bar was located here. The pair rounded the final corner to their destination and looked up to see a blue neon sign that read "Discharge." The name was surrounded by little lightening bolts that faded in and out in what looked like the static discharge of a ship's FTL drive. Will smirked at the sign and proceeded toward the door with Shansa just behind him. The door slid apart to reveal a small entrance hall that opened into a large, circular room illuminated by light blue and purple lights. At the center of the room a circular bar was tended by a turian and human preparing drinks for the dozens of patrons seated on barstools or at the numerous tables surrounding the bar.

"Cool place," Shansa commented over the music that filled the room.

Will scanned the room briefly before catching sight of their comrades seated on the far side. "There they are."

Eleena, Kallux and Tul'Sorrin waved them over as Will and Shansa stepped through the crowd. The trio rose from their seats and met them at the side of their table as Will and Shansa reached them. The asari, krogan and quarian met their pilot with smiles and welcoming handshakes. Kallux gave Shansa a firm pat on the shoulder and made a comment about her krogan-like vitality which earned a laugh from the others. Eleena shook her head with a smirk and wrapped her arms around Shansa in a friendly hug before waving them all to sit.

"I told Hume that you'd be fine," Kallux remarked to Shansa. "But he would just not stop worrying."

Will rolled his eyes sarcastically as Shansa smiled and responded. "He's always been a worrier." She leaned back and pulled her shirt about halfway up her torso to reveal the bandages still covering her stomach. "And rightfully so!"

Tul cleared his throat and leaned toward Shansa. "Well to be fair to Will... I was rather concerned as well."

"Aw, thanks Tul." Shansa blushed softly and reached over to place a hand on his arm.

"We all were," Eleena added. "We drank our fair share because of it."

Shansa looked down bashfully and shook her head. "Okay, okay, enough about me! I wanna hear about this adventure that I missed out on."

"Sounds good, but first I'm getting us some drinks," Will announced to the approval of the others.

After returning with a round for the crew, including a glass of water for Shansa, Will leaned back in his seat and began recounting the tale. Eleena, Kallux and Tul were quick to interrupt and make corrections on the details Will had tweaked that just happened to eliminate any of his missteps. Three rounds of drinks later Shansa had given a soft applause to the story which the crew jokingly basked in.

"I wish I had been there." Shansa grinned playfully. "That's the last time I use a coma to get out of work."

"Heh, we could have used you," Tul'Sorrin stated. "The Hyperion would probably be in one piece if you had been there!"

Kallux and Eleena laughed at the remark only to stop as Shansa's expression froze. Will placed his palm over his face and let out a pained sigh.

"I hadn't  _exactly_  told her about the ship in detail yet," Will mumbled through his fingers.

"Oh..." Tul'Sorrin muttered as Shansa looked to him with a horrified expression. "It was a joke, mostly! Eleena?"

The asari nodded quickly. "Hull integrity was holding in the sixties!"

"Sixties!" Tul echoed immediately.

Shansa shook her head slowly. "I'm out less than a week and you all manage to trash the ship."

Will put his hand on her shoulder. "Look at it this way: last time it needed this much work we got new primary thrusters!"

"Alright, alright." Shansa shook her head and slammed her glass of water to the table mock-dramatically. "But I want a new seat cover, damn it!"

"Done!" Will answered quickly. "We'll even get one for the copilot chair."

"Assuming we have the funds," Eleena interjected as she took a quick sip from her drink. "Not to be the downer or anything, but these repairs are gonna cost us."

Kallux downed a large gulp of his krogan alcohol. "Well I'm expecting the payment for those bounties any day now. I believe I promised you all a fair cut, no?"

Will let out a relieved sigh and finished off his drink. "Kallux, you're a life saver."

Tul'Sorrin cleared his throat and sat forward, his words slightly slurred. "Would now be a good time to mention that, while I was poking around in the Sommesh station's network, I managed to gain access to some accounts used by their operatives?" The quarian looked around the table as he sat back and crossed his arms. "And I  _may_  have drained a nice chunk into my personal account."

The others stared in silence as Will leaned over the table to get closer to Tul. "How many credits are we talking here, Tul'Sorrin?"

The quarian shrugged nonchalantly. "Only a couple hundred thousand."

The rest of the crew was visually taken aback and looked to one another in shock, perhaps to be sure that they had not misheard.

Will reached across the table and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You son of a bitch! I thought we'd have to sell the damn ship for scrap! Why didn't you mention this before now?!"

Tul'Sorrin chuckled as Will dropped back into his chair. "Well I wanted to make sure everyone was here. I think we all deserve a share."

"Wow." Eleena took a huge gulp of her drink. "Then forget all that bullshit about not having the funds."

Will tapped his thumb on the side of his glass and looked around the table in astonishment. "Yeah. I guess so." His eyes fell on Kallux and Tul. "It was really great having you two with us, by the way. Not just because of the money. We wouldn't have made it without you."

Kallux sat up and nodded toward Will, Shansa and Eleena. "What's your plan now?"

Will looked to his left and right where the two women sat. "Well, once the Hyperion is back in working condition I suppose we'll start looking for work. We haven't even made a delivery with our newest crew member yet." He glanced to Eleena with a grin.

"Forgive me if this is forward, but I'd like to offer an alternative." Kallux placed his hands on the table and laced his fingers. "As a lone operative with the Red Moon Collective there are a lot of tasks that I simply can't manage on my own without a ship. This most recent assignment, for example. I think it's fairly apparent that we work well together and the Collective is always short of teams capable enough to handle groups like Sommesh." The krogan's gaze rotated from one end of the table to the other. "We took them down as nothing more than a group of strangers with a wonderfully diverse set of skills. If we were to continue working together I believe we could stand to do a lot of good in this galaxy. And earn a lot of credits doing so."

Silence fell over the table as they considered the offer.

"So you wanna form a merc band?" Eleena raised a brow in amusement.

Kallux smirked. "In more or less words, yes. The five of us could make more doing high profile RMC operations than the three of you could make delivering cargo, that's for sure. Hell, that option wouldn't even be off the table if we wanted to take a few weeks off between missions."

Will already knew what his answer was, but he glanced to Eleena and Shansa. "You two are the official members of the crew. Thoughts?"

"It sounds exciting." Shansa smiled earnestly. "And we could help people."

Eleena shrugged. "From my understanding, I'm here to fix thrusters and deal with people who try to kill us. As long as that's in the job description I'm in."

Will looked across the table to Tul'Sorrin. "Of course... we'd be a mess without our master tactician. Tul?"

"Well." The quarian looked off to the side. "I always have plenty of freelance translator work available. I could manage plenty of that during jumps and other such downtime." Tul looked back to Will. "I don't have to sign a non-compete or anything, do I?"

Will chuckled and shook his head.

Tul'Sorrin nodded. "Sure, count me in. It's not like I have anything better to do."

Kallux grinned in satisfaction. "Well, I'm glad everyone's on board! I really didn't feel like packing up all my gear."

The group gave a small laugh as Will looked around the table. "In that case, welcome aboard Kallux and Tul." He raised one of the full glasses that a waitress had delivered to them. "Here's to a crew I couldn't be more proud of."

Eleena raised her glass to meet his. "And its fine captain."

He nodded as he continued. "And to a promising business venture."

Kallux, Tul and Shansa all raised their glasses to clink them together ceremoniously before downing a mouthful of their respective drinks.

Will let out a satisfied sigh. "For now, though, let's relax. We've got a lot more ahead of us."


End file.
